By John Stallings
He was an ambitious & clever liar. He was a cheat, a crook, a gyp, a con artist, a flim-flam man, a fraud, a fake, a phony, a trickster & a swindler.
He was selfish & egotistical, cold, calculating, scheming, conniving tricky & sly.
We often speak of “bottom feeders,” describing people who are low-down. Well, before God changed him he would be said to have reached the lowest possible place, sunk a little lower & was looking up through the bottom.
He was the younger of twin brothers who came out of his mother’s womb holding his older brother’s heal. His name really meant “grabber” before God changed it & he spent a good part of his life grabbing everything that wasn’t nailed down. If there ever was an unlikely candidate for sainthood it was this man yet he was the third of Israel’s “holy three.”
He had twelve sons & at least one daughter but unfortunately there were no women’s groups in those days to help keep up, so the fairest sex didn’t count. Most of the world is still this way. Who is this man? Right-it’s Jacob.
Among Jacob’s twelve sons was a gifted boy, a boy who was a dreamer, a boy called Joseph. Not only was Joseph a dreamer, he was a naive, unsuspecting, trusting dreamer. In fact Joseph was so young, inexperienced & naive, he wasn’t aware of a thing called jealousy. This almost proved deadly for him.
DREAMERS HAVE TO BE CAREFUL
Dreamers must be careful who they share their dreams with. There are “non-dreamers” who specialize in seeing that other people’s dreams don’t come true. In fact, these dream killers actually think they’re doing God a favor when they kill the dreams of the dreamer. If you share your heart with them there’s a good chance you’ll end up with blasted hopes & shattered dreams.
Don’t waste your dreams on the dreamless.
Joseph’s jealous brothers plotted to kill him but changed their minds & ended up putting him in a pit. Don’t miss this next point;
-- After they put their brother in a pit, they took a lunch break. Isn’t it interesting that some people are so heartless that they can attack you to the point that you are so emotionally & physically damaged that your heart is hanging on the outside of your body, & sit down to eat as though nothing has happened? As a matter of fact they’re so mean spirited they actually get a morbid sense of satisfaction out of the harm they bring to you.
But let’s move the story on. This group of slimy brothers saw a group of Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt & sold Joseph into slavery. In their minds they’d gotten rid of the dreamer but they failed to realize that Joseph was a special son of destiny. God had a plan for Joseph & that plan involved bringing him from the pit to the palace. It would be an understatement to say; -- these boys will see Joseph again.
You’ll remember that Joseph went to work at Potiphar’s house in Egypt & in the course of time Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of rape & he landed in jail.
Years went by & it looked like Joseph would rot in prison. Meanwhile back in Canaan, Jacob & his sons are experiencing a drought. The lakes & rivers are drying up & the people are perishing & the rain won’t visit the land.
Jacob hears there’s corn & grain in Egypt & decides to send his sons down to buy all the food they can get. Unbeknownst to them, Joseph is not only alive; he’s interpreted Pharaoh’s dream & gives warning of a coming famine. He tells the king how to prepare for it by storing up food during seven years of plenty in preparation for the coming seven year famine. At last Joseph gets a break. He not only gets out of jail, he’s now second in command in all of Egypt.
Before Jacob’s sons leave for Egypt, he tells them to take gifts including myrrh, spices, balm, along with money to buy grain. But then in Genesis 43:11, he added;
---Take a little honey with you. Egypt wasn’t famous for honey but Canaan was known as a land that “flowed with milk & honey.” Honey was also used as a medium of exchange.
LOOK WITH ME AT FOUR WORDS-- “TAKE A LITTLE HONEY,”-- AS A METAPHOR FOR CHEERFULNESS, - JOY, - KINDNESS, -COMPASSION & CONSIDERATION.
Things aren’t looking good right now in our country & good-cheer is going to be necessary to survive. We’ve fought a war that’s lasted longer than the 2nd World War. We’ve seen real estate devalued & it looks like the dollar is suffering the same fate. I can’t be far off the mark to say America has the “flu” & it’s far from certain that the big doses of “antibiotics” being pumped into her [borrowed money] is going to save the patient.
2012 by all predictions is going to be rough for millions of people, especially if the economy doesn’t pick up before unemployment insurance gives out. As we face this coming year, I can’t think of anything more important than, by God's Grace maintaining a sunny, happy attitude. Here’s where the honey helps.
A lady was late for work & she was driving behind a man who was intent on not exceeding the speed limit. She honked a few times but it did no good & he just kept the same speed.
As they approached a light it turned yellow & it was one of those times when you could get through if you pushed the envelope a little. The man slowed down & stopped & the light turned red.
This was the last straw for the woman. She went ballistic & started yelling, blowing her horn, cursing & worse. A cop pulled up & ordered her out of the car with her hands in the air. He arrested her & took her downtown where he put her in a holding cell.
About two hours later he came back & let the now calm woman out. He apologized to her & said he verified that the car was hers. She asked why he’d arrested her in the first place. He explained that when he pulled up behind her she was cursing & yelling & coming completely unhinged. He said he looked at the Christian license plate holder, the silver fish emblem & the “honk if you love Jesus” bumper sticker & he thought it was obvious that she’d stolen the car.
Sometimes we Christians react to things around us is such a way as to appear anything but Christians don’t we? What kind of testimony is it for the Lord when we don’t have a dab of honey on us?
I’m not talking about giddiness. If we act too happy people will think we don’t understand the problem. The honey of which I speak is that deep settled peace & joy that can’t help but be contagious.
I’m not advocating that we go around acting like we’ve just had a Valium smoothie or just landed in “The Sea of Tranquility.” However, a Christian who’s a chronic complainer, a dispenser of disillusionment, & a purveyor of pessimism needs to examine the boat in which he is crossing the sea of life & see if perhaps he’s sprung a leak.
I acknowledge that there’s enough in this world to make a person sour, somber, cynical, bitter & sad especially if we dwell on the ingratitude, misunderstanding, misrepresentation, failure & hypocrisy of others. But often the greatest problem is our own attitude, not the objective situation. Carrying a little honey can make all the difference.
Jesus was a “Man of sorrows & acquainted with grief & He felt more pain & loneliness than you & I will ever feel, yet He said, --My peace I leave with you…..” James said,--Count it all joy when ye fall into divers testing…..James 1:2. This is actually a command to carry a little honey.
THE HONEY OF COMPASSION AND CONSIDERATION
Author Somerset Maugham had a mother who was celebrated internationally for her exquisite beauty. His father however looked like he fell out of the ugly tree & hit every limb on the way down. People would often ask Maugham’s mother why she chose such a physically unattractive man. This sounds rather crass but its non-the-less true. She would always answer this way;-“He has never hurt my feelings.”
That would be a rather hard standard for most of us to live up to [sad to say I’ve failed the test more than I’d like to admit,] but the greater question is; how many married people even try to keep from tongue- lashing their spouse at the drop of a hat, & they’ll drop the hat themselves?
Could it be the divorce rate is so high because of something as seemingly simple as consideration?
Recently I heard a news report that said young people actually have physical fights while they’re out on dates. I was shocked. The report didn’t say that the girls were fighting the boys off to keep from being raped; that would be understandable. It was couples who’d been dating only a short time or were on their first date who got into shouting matches that ended in physical violence. The report said that more boys reported being physically attacked by girls than visa versa.
What does this kind of behavior portend for the institution of marriage? Unmarried people should begin now to learn to treat the opposite sex with honor & respect. It’s a habit they’ll need when they’re married. As an example, if little boys are taught at home to put the toilet seat down it won’t be a problem for them to be considerate of their wives & put the toilet seat down when they’re married.
MORE MARRIAGES DIE FROM INFLEXIBILITY THAN EVER DIE FROM ADULTRY, ALCOHOLISM OR ABUSE.
Marriage is constant negotiation & compromise from where we set the thermostat to where we go to eat. 1 Corinthians 13:5 says,--Love does not demand its own way. [LB.]
I can remember when I was a young preacher, I used to preach stem-winding sermons in an effort to lift the lid on Hell & allow the folk to smell the smoke. I was overly zealous & sometimes went too far in tanning the hides of the faithful. When I heard other preachers & they really burned-hides I’d say, “Now that’s what I call preaching.”
Please don’t misunderstand, I believe the Word should be preached without compromise, & the whole council should be declared without fear or favor, but I’ve learned that a little honey goes a long way. Through the years I’ve discovered that a little humor also helps.
Only unwise preachers say things like, “If you can’t see that you don’t have the brains of a Billy-goat.” Or, “You don’t have enough sense to pound sand in a rat-hole.” Or this one, --“Anybody with one eye & half sense can see my point.” A "one word" put down that seems to have surficed lately is simply calling people "stupid." Not good!!
I heard about a preacher who saw a man he knew was unsaved at a filling station pumping gas while smoking a cigarette. This of course is a very unwise thing to do, to say the least. The preacher yelled out, “If you don’t think there’s a hell, just blow yourself up with that cigarette & gasoline & you’ll change your mind in less than five seconds.”
This minister didn’t care what anybody thought, he felt everyone else was wrong & he was always right. This kind of behavior sounds a lot like the Pharisee’s of Jesus’ day to me. We don’t have to be vipers to tell people the truth. When we’re dealing with men’s immortal souls, often a little honey will help the medicine go down. Don’t you agree?
TAKE THE HONEY OF JOY WITH YOU
The Bible has many references to joy; the NASB uses joy in 170 verses & the KJV uses it 155 times. There are 15 different Hebrew words & 8 Greek words to describe joy & some are used as a noun & a verb. We recently celebrated Christmas & how many times did we sing “Joy to the world, the Lord has come?”
But Christmas to some people isn’t joyful at all. What if joy doesn’t come, what do we do then? The problem is- joy isn’t a commodity that can be produced or bought, sold or stolen. We can’t download joy. We can’t get it on discount at Penny’s. We can’t win it in a lawsuit or turn it on with a remote control. We can’t earn it or inherit it.
Joy is a gift we can only receive, an expression of God’s free grace. We can’t tell joy what to do. We can’t control it. We can’t manufacture it. Joy can’t be bought at any price.
We spent the day at Disney World a couple of months ago & I didn’t see a single face with joy on it. Most of the kids were frowning if not crying & most adults had looks of consternation on their faces, rushing from one place to the next as if trying to beat the clock & cram everything possible into one day.
We can get a certain sense of happiness in life from things we do; a good job, a successful relationship, a nice vacation or good health. But joy is different. Joy is as unpredictable as the one who bestows it. Happiness we can try to achieve but joy we can only receive.
It’s like the difference in contentment & peace….achievement & fulfillment…. Affection & love…optimism & hope…getting a cure & getting a healing….making a commitment & being born again. We are all on a journey to find joy but in truth it’s joy that must come to us.
Weeping may endure for a night but JOY COMES in the morning. Psalm 30:5
We can’t have joy unless we live close to the Lord, seek His face not His hands & feast upon His words, precepts & principles. Then we can be “honey carriers” letting the sweetness of Christ be manifest to the joyless ones we encounter each day.
THE HONEY OF KINDNESS
For God’s sake - be kind. The honey of kindness is essential if people are going to get along. Have you noticed the rudeness & ill-manners in our world? The “honey of human kindness” is desperately needed.
Let me tell you one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible.
There was once a boy who lived in ancient Israel about 1,000 years before Christ named Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, grandson of King Saul, the first king of Israel.
Up until the age of five, Mephibosheth lived at home with his parents. Outside this small family circle national events were moving quickly toward a day of trouble. His grandpa Saul was losing his grip both on his sanity & on his kingdom. He was enraged by David’s popularity & chased him for years trying to kill him.
One day the Philistines killed Saul & Jonathon on the battlefield & when this news reached Jonathon’s home, Mephibosheth’s nurse grabbed him up & took off running. This was a brutal time & when one leader won a victory over another, they would systematically kill all the man’s family to prevent later uprisings.
Mephibosheth’s nurse knew David would now be king, & she knew of the hostility between Saul & David, so in her haste to protect Mephibosheth, she began to run, but accidentally dropped him & he was permanently injured. We’re not sure of the nature of the injury but the upshot was he was lame in both feet.
Now 15 or 20 years have passed & David is consolidated in his power as king. There is peace all around & David finally has time to do some thinking. If you want to see why David was –a man after God’s own heart—you’ll find it in this story.
You’ll remember how much David loved Jonathan, Saul’s son. One day out of the blue, David asks—Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
Isn’t that beautiful? David wants to bless some relative, any relative of Saul—FOR JONATHAN’S SAKE!
Here is David holding all the cards with absolute power & he wants to show kindness to a relative of Saul, a man who tried to destroy him, because of his love for the man’s son Jonathan.
Well, Mephibosheth is Saul’s grandson so his name is given to David. Mephibosheth is located living in a little backwater town of Lo Debar. He was brought to live in David’s palace & eat at his table with the rest of David’s family, --for the rest of his life.
I know you see the parallel between you & me & Mephibosheth. Just as he, we were poor, needy & crippled by sin, but God, out of his great heart of love has invited us to come to his table where all manner of good things are spread; to come & dine, the only requirement being that we accept by faith the full & free pardon of our sins.
I remember an old song we used to sing when I was a boy;
Jesus has a table spread where the saints of God are fed, He invites His chosen people come & dine.
We like Mephibosheth will always eat at His table.
This superlative act of kindness on David’s part was done, not because of his love for Mephibosheth. Jonathan was dead & David couldn’t show kindness to him, so he did the next best thing & showed kindness to his cripple son,--For Jonathan’s sake.
Listen to Matthew 25:40….Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.
If you & I can’t think of any other reason to carry the honey of kindness, we should be kind—FOR GOD”S SAKE!
When we’re kind to someone for God’s sake we won’t go unrewarded. Listen to Mark 9:41,--For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, he shall not lose his reward.
I think the strongest statement in the Bible about love is 1 John 4:8;
He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for GOD IS LOVE.
Does that verse strike a chord deep within your heart & humble you as it does me? I hope so.
As we enter this New Year, will you join me in taking the honey of kindness, joy, love & forgiveness each & every day by God’s grace?
King David was prepared to show the kindness of God to a cripple who didn’t deserve it. Certainly David was under no obligation to do what he did; he did it for Jonathan’s sake.
Yes, you & I will meet the unlovely& the unlovable on our journey in 2012 We will again be hurt by the insensitivity & downright hostility of others. That’s more or less a given. The question is will we take enough honey with us to be able to show kindness toward others, FOR GOD”S SAKE?
Blessings & happy New Year,
And don’t forget to “take a little honey.”
Blessings,
John
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
I'm Dreaming Of a RIGHT Christmas
By John Stallings
A pastor worked in his study all through Christmas Eve preparing for the Christmas morning service.
Being very tired he dozed off & dreamt of a world to which the Savior had never come. In his dream he was looking around his home but there were no Christmas decorations, no candles or Christmas wreaths.
He walked into his study & thumbed through his library but found no books about Jesus, & the Bible he found ended at Malachi. He noticed that the last words of the Bible were, LEST I COME & SMITE THE EARTH WITH A CURSE. He walked out unto the streets & found no church spires pointing heavenward.
He went back inside & a knock on the door brought a request to visit a dying mother. He went to her bedside but could find no comforting scriptures, for the gospels were not there. Paul’s comforting letters that included passages about life beyond the grave were missing. There was no promise beyond the grave. Even John’s book of Revelation was not there.
He could only bow his head & weep in hopeless desperation. Two days later he stood by the mother’s grave & conducted her burial but he could give no word of changed hearts & glorious resurrections, only, “ashes to ashes & dust to dust.” It was just one long, last, final farewell.
Suddenly nearby music awoke him from his sleep & he was sobbing uncontrollably. He realized he was hearing his own church choir in the sanctuary next door practicing for their Christmas service & singing “Oh come let us adore Him.” The fact was, Jesus had come & His coming had split history in two, giving hope for eternal life to all who trust in Him.
WHAT WOULD A WORLD WITHOUT CHRIST LOOK LIKE?
Had Christ not come we’d have no New Testament, no gospel, no church, no Lord’s Day, no repentance, no forgiveness of sins, no changed & transformed hearts & lives & no hope of His eternal presence.
The angel wouldn’t have told Mary, -With God nothing is impossible.
The angels wouldn’t have sung to the shepherds, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will to men.
One of my favorite secular Christmas songs has always been ErvIn Berlin’s White Christmas. Though it’s always been a dream of mine, I can’t say that I ever experienced a white Christmas. In the last few years that dream has faded & been replaced with the desire to celebrate each year, a Right Christmas.
What does a right Christmas look like?
A RIGHT CHRISTMAS IS BEAUTIFULLY SIMPLE & SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL.
Have you ever tried to explain the real meaning of Christmas to a child? It isn’t easy. There is so much tradition mixed up with spiritual truth that it’s sometimes hard to tell Jesus from Santa Claus & the Wise men from the snowmen.
The very young have puzzled looks on their faces as they try to sort it all out. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight….Christmas is baby Jesus’ birthday, but I get the presents?” They end up thinking;-“Is this a great religion or what?”
THE MOST NEGLECTED CHRISTMAS VERSE OF ALL
There is one verse that for me sums up the real meaning of Christmas better than any verse in the Bible. Within this short verse we find the answer to the question, what is the right attitude about Christmas & --What is a right Christmas?
And here is the verse---11 Corinthians 8:9: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
Let’s examine this verse for in it I believe we find the essence of a right attitude toward Christmas.
A. HE WAS RICH
I read last week that Wal-Mart is the richest & most successful business that’s ever existed on planet earth. My computer even knows who Wal-mart is because it just corrected my spelling of the name.
This brings up a question in my mind: “Why don’t we let Wal-mart bail out General Motors?” But I digress. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-mart was a “rich-en.” He was among the group of old boys who would light their cigars with a hundred dollar bill. The average rich ride first class. The medium rich charter a jet. The super rich own the jet. The incredibly rich own the airline.
But Jesus Christ owns the skies. The Bible says---HE WAS RICH! This is speaking of what He had in heaven before He came to earth. You can take the richest men who ever lived, the most powerful rulers who ever lived, the wisest men who ever lived, the mightiest generals who ever lived, the strongest athletes in every sport, the most spell-binding orators, the greatest political leaders & any other great men on earth, calculate their wealth…power…skill…genius…wisdom…insight…& ability. Whatever that vast sum comes to, Jesus had more in heaven. No man or collection of men could touch Him. The pre-existent Jesus Christ wasn’t a pauper but a man who lived in glorious untold splendor.
He Was Rich!!
B. HE BECAME POOR
When you & I celebrate a right Christmas we keep in mind the lowly baby Jesus who became poor. Exactly what does that mean? He was rich in eternity but He became poor when He moved into time. He left heaven for a remote village in a forgotten province, to join a despised race, to be born of an obscure teenage peasant girl in a stable, wrapped in rags & placed in a feeding-trough instead of a crib.
But Jesus didn’t act “high & mighty.” He knew it all but wasn’t a “know it all.” He owned all the stuff but never did “strut His stuff.” He wasn’t a “name-dropper.” He wasn’t a showoff. He never asked people, “Want me to beam you into the 21st century?” Jesus could have constantly been saying things like, “I’ve got some property on Jupiter.” But Jesus’ purpose wasn’t to show-off but to show-up. Jesus was holding the entire Universe together but you couldn’t tell it by watching or listening to Him. He wasn’t like that.
Here is the creator of the universe who looked no different than the guy down the street. Jesus became poor & pitched His tent among us for a while. He didn’t Lord it over us but loved us so much He was willing to die for us. He wasn’t on an ego trip he was on a rescue mission. A right Christmas is one that remembers that we are something special to God.
Notice that Jesus became poor. You & I are made poor by circumstances but Jesus of His own free will became poor. The man who was richer than any man has ever been gave it up freely & became poorer than any man has ever been.
If we have a right Christmas we’ll be remembering that the heart of it all, the heart of the gospel is that the richest person in the universe of His own free will became poorer than the poor.
I love the story of the atheist who would never go to church with his Christian family. One Christmas season, his wife & children were readying themselves to go to Sunday morning service & pleaded with him to go just this once. It was a special Christmas service & there’d be beautiful music.
The unbelieving man refused to go, as usual, telling his family it would just be a waste of time for him, that Christmas was just a silly old tradition about a man who never really existed.
The family left for church leaving the father sitting in his recliner near a large picture window that overlooked a big back yard. It was snowing & the sight of the flakes building up on the barn behind the house was breathtaking. He thought how much it looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.
Then something happened that almost startled him out of his chair. A flock of about twenty birds, not seeing the glass window, flew right into it, leaving several of them wounded & flapping around on the ground. The man, pitying the poor birds slowly got up & walked toward the window to get a better look. He stood & watched the birds slowly regain their composure & then begin to wander around the backyard in a state of confusion. He went & dressed & got some bread from the kitchen thinking he’d try to feed the birds if they’d allow him to get close enough.
His worst fears were realized when he approached the dazed & confused birds when they fluttered away, seeing every move he made as a threat to them. This went on for quite some time & the man finally had an idea. If he could open the big barn doors, & get the nearly frozen birds to go in they could have shelter from the blistering winds & maybe live to fly again.
The man slowly moved across the barnyard & opened the doors, placing the bread crumbs on the ground hoping the birds natural survival instinct would kick in. The man tried every trick he could think of to get those disoriented birds to see that life was within their reach just a few feet away, but the birds stubbornly refused to co-operate.
Finally the man, not able to stand the bitter cold had to give up & go back inside to warm himself. As he stood at the window & watched the birds, still wandering aimlessly around the yard, the thought came to him; there was only one way he could ever hope to get those birds to go into the barn, but it wasn’t within his power to do it.
The only way the birds could be saved was if he himself could become a bird & join the little flock & lead them into the safety of the barn.
When his family returned from church, the man shared the experience with them. Through that visual experience with the birds God had shown him the meaning of Christmas. Bethlehem was about God wrapping himself in human flesh & becoming a man. He entered the human race & became poor like us so that we would hear Him saying, “I love you.” Immanuel—God with us.
C. THAT WE MIGHT BECOME RICH
Here is “The right Christmas” message,—Jesus became poor so that we who were poor might become rich. Think abut that. All the riches & grace of God is available to me by virtue of my relationship with Jesus Christ. All the power & all the right standing with God are mine through Him.
You may say, “You don’t deserve that.” Indeed I don’t but that’s the grace of our Lord Jesus. If I deserved it I wouldn’t need Jesus, but through my relationship with Him suddenly I’m a rich man.
The theologians have a word for it. They call it the doctrine of imputation. He takes my sin & I take His righteousness. That’s grace by association.
Do you remember the wedding of Lady Diana & Prince Charles? We saw a T.V movie about it recently. Diana didn’t exactly come from poverty but compared to the royal family, her family was poor. But now, by virtue of her marriage to Prince Charles, all the wealth, all the prestige, all the power, all the pomp & glory of the royal family belong to her. Once she was an outsider; now she has access to the Queen. Did she earn such a lofty standing? No. It was imputed to her by virtue of her relationship to Prince Charles. Imputed honor- imputed wealth -& imputed standing.
What do you call a poor girl who marries a prince? You call her “Your Highness.”
So it is that when we came to Jesus we were spiritual paupers. Our hands were empty & our pockets were bare. We had nothing to offer & no claim to make. All our lives it had been, one step forward & two steps back but when we came to Him, we were fed, clothed, filled, forgiven, & crowned with every good thing.
Jesus took away our rags & placed around us His own righteousness. Everything that was against us was gone & everything we lacked we now have. All this happened because of Christmas. He who was rich became poor for my sake, that through His poverty I might be rich.
The Son of God became a son of man in order that the sons of men might become the sons of God.
Again, what is a right Christmas?
A—He was rich
B---He became poor
C---That we might become rich
And that’s the true meaning of Christmas.
Only one thing remains. Have you found the Christ of Christmas & asked Him to be your Savior? Have you placed your trust in Him? Have you given up your spiritual poverty for the riches He offers to you?
One of my favorite Christmas songs is “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” I love this verse;
How silently, how silently
This wondrous gift was giv’n
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessing of His heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in the world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
And so He does! May that be our experience as we all enjoy,
A RIGHT CHRISTMAS!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Blessings,
John
A pastor worked in his study all through Christmas Eve preparing for the Christmas morning service.
Being very tired he dozed off & dreamt of a world to which the Savior had never come. In his dream he was looking around his home but there were no Christmas decorations, no candles or Christmas wreaths.
He walked into his study & thumbed through his library but found no books about Jesus, & the Bible he found ended at Malachi. He noticed that the last words of the Bible were, LEST I COME & SMITE THE EARTH WITH A CURSE. He walked out unto the streets & found no church spires pointing heavenward.
He went back inside & a knock on the door brought a request to visit a dying mother. He went to her bedside but could find no comforting scriptures, for the gospels were not there. Paul’s comforting letters that included passages about life beyond the grave were missing. There was no promise beyond the grave. Even John’s book of Revelation was not there.
He could only bow his head & weep in hopeless desperation. Two days later he stood by the mother’s grave & conducted her burial but he could give no word of changed hearts & glorious resurrections, only, “ashes to ashes & dust to dust.” It was just one long, last, final farewell.
Suddenly nearby music awoke him from his sleep & he was sobbing uncontrollably. He realized he was hearing his own church choir in the sanctuary next door practicing for their Christmas service & singing “Oh come let us adore Him.” The fact was, Jesus had come & His coming had split history in two, giving hope for eternal life to all who trust in Him.
WHAT WOULD A WORLD WITHOUT CHRIST LOOK LIKE?
Had Christ not come we’d have no New Testament, no gospel, no church, no Lord’s Day, no repentance, no forgiveness of sins, no changed & transformed hearts & lives & no hope of His eternal presence.
The angel wouldn’t have told Mary, -With God nothing is impossible.
The angels wouldn’t have sung to the shepherds, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will to men.
One of my favorite secular Christmas songs has always been ErvIn Berlin’s White Christmas. Though it’s always been a dream of mine, I can’t say that I ever experienced a white Christmas. In the last few years that dream has faded & been replaced with the desire to celebrate each year, a Right Christmas.
What does a right Christmas look like?
A RIGHT CHRISTMAS IS BEAUTIFULLY SIMPLE & SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL.
Have you ever tried to explain the real meaning of Christmas to a child? It isn’t easy. There is so much tradition mixed up with spiritual truth that it’s sometimes hard to tell Jesus from Santa Claus & the Wise men from the snowmen.
The very young have puzzled looks on their faces as they try to sort it all out. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight….Christmas is baby Jesus’ birthday, but I get the presents?” They end up thinking;-“Is this a great religion or what?”
THE MOST NEGLECTED CHRISTMAS VERSE OF ALL
There is one verse that for me sums up the real meaning of Christmas better than any verse in the Bible. Within this short verse we find the answer to the question, what is the right attitude about Christmas & --What is a right Christmas?
And here is the verse---11 Corinthians 8:9: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
Let’s examine this verse for in it I believe we find the essence of a right attitude toward Christmas.
A. HE WAS RICH
I read last week that Wal-Mart is the richest & most successful business that’s ever existed on planet earth. My computer even knows who Wal-mart is because it just corrected my spelling of the name.
This brings up a question in my mind: “Why don’t we let Wal-mart bail out General Motors?” But I digress. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-mart was a “rich-en.” He was among the group of old boys who would light their cigars with a hundred dollar bill. The average rich ride first class. The medium rich charter a jet. The super rich own the jet. The incredibly rich own the airline.
But Jesus Christ owns the skies. The Bible says---HE WAS RICH! This is speaking of what He had in heaven before He came to earth. You can take the richest men who ever lived, the most powerful rulers who ever lived, the wisest men who ever lived, the mightiest generals who ever lived, the strongest athletes in every sport, the most spell-binding orators, the greatest political leaders & any other great men on earth, calculate their wealth…power…skill…genius…wisdom…insight…& ability. Whatever that vast sum comes to, Jesus had more in heaven. No man or collection of men could touch Him. The pre-existent Jesus Christ wasn’t a pauper but a man who lived in glorious untold splendor.
He Was Rich!!
B. HE BECAME POOR
When you & I celebrate a right Christmas we keep in mind the lowly baby Jesus who became poor. Exactly what does that mean? He was rich in eternity but He became poor when He moved into time. He left heaven for a remote village in a forgotten province, to join a despised race, to be born of an obscure teenage peasant girl in a stable, wrapped in rags & placed in a feeding-trough instead of a crib.
But Jesus didn’t act “high & mighty.” He knew it all but wasn’t a “know it all.” He owned all the stuff but never did “strut His stuff.” He wasn’t a “name-dropper.” He wasn’t a showoff. He never asked people, “Want me to beam you into the 21st century?” Jesus could have constantly been saying things like, “I’ve got some property on Jupiter.” But Jesus’ purpose wasn’t to show-off but to show-up. Jesus was holding the entire Universe together but you couldn’t tell it by watching or listening to Him. He wasn’t like that.
Here is the creator of the universe who looked no different than the guy down the street. Jesus became poor & pitched His tent among us for a while. He didn’t Lord it over us but loved us so much He was willing to die for us. He wasn’t on an ego trip he was on a rescue mission. A right Christmas is one that remembers that we are something special to God.
Notice that Jesus became poor. You & I are made poor by circumstances but Jesus of His own free will became poor. The man who was richer than any man has ever been gave it up freely & became poorer than any man has ever been.
If we have a right Christmas we’ll be remembering that the heart of it all, the heart of the gospel is that the richest person in the universe of His own free will became poorer than the poor.
I love the story of the atheist who would never go to church with his Christian family. One Christmas season, his wife & children were readying themselves to go to Sunday morning service & pleaded with him to go just this once. It was a special Christmas service & there’d be beautiful music.
The unbelieving man refused to go, as usual, telling his family it would just be a waste of time for him, that Christmas was just a silly old tradition about a man who never really existed.
The family left for church leaving the father sitting in his recliner near a large picture window that overlooked a big back yard. It was snowing & the sight of the flakes building up on the barn behind the house was breathtaking. He thought how much it looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.
Then something happened that almost startled him out of his chair. A flock of about twenty birds, not seeing the glass window, flew right into it, leaving several of them wounded & flapping around on the ground. The man, pitying the poor birds slowly got up & walked toward the window to get a better look. He stood & watched the birds slowly regain their composure & then begin to wander around the backyard in a state of confusion. He went & dressed & got some bread from the kitchen thinking he’d try to feed the birds if they’d allow him to get close enough.
His worst fears were realized when he approached the dazed & confused birds when they fluttered away, seeing every move he made as a threat to them. This went on for quite some time & the man finally had an idea. If he could open the big barn doors, & get the nearly frozen birds to go in they could have shelter from the blistering winds & maybe live to fly again.
The man slowly moved across the barnyard & opened the doors, placing the bread crumbs on the ground hoping the birds natural survival instinct would kick in. The man tried every trick he could think of to get those disoriented birds to see that life was within their reach just a few feet away, but the birds stubbornly refused to co-operate.
Finally the man, not able to stand the bitter cold had to give up & go back inside to warm himself. As he stood at the window & watched the birds, still wandering aimlessly around the yard, the thought came to him; there was only one way he could ever hope to get those birds to go into the barn, but it wasn’t within his power to do it.
The only way the birds could be saved was if he himself could become a bird & join the little flock & lead them into the safety of the barn.
When his family returned from church, the man shared the experience with them. Through that visual experience with the birds God had shown him the meaning of Christmas. Bethlehem was about God wrapping himself in human flesh & becoming a man. He entered the human race & became poor like us so that we would hear Him saying, “I love you.” Immanuel—God with us.
C. THAT WE MIGHT BECOME RICH
Here is “The right Christmas” message,—Jesus became poor so that we who were poor might become rich. Think abut that. All the riches & grace of God is available to me by virtue of my relationship with Jesus Christ. All the power & all the right standing with God are mine through Him.
You may say, “You don’t deserve that.” Indeed I don’t but that’s the grace of our Lord Jesus. If I deserved it I wouldn’t need Jesus, but through my relationship with Him suddenly I’m a rich man.
The theologians have a word for it. They call it the doctrine of imputation. He takes my sin & I take His righteousness. That’s grace by association.
Do you remember the wedding of Lady Diana & Prince Charles? We saw a T.V movie about it recently. Diana didn’t exactly come from poverty but compared to the royal family, her family was poor. But now, by virtue of her marriage to Prince Charles, all the wealth, all the prestige, all the power, all the pomp & glory of the royal family belong to her. Once she was an outsider; now she has access to the Queen. Did she earn such a lofty standing? No. It was imputed to her by virtue of her relationship to Prince Charles. Imputed honor- imputed wealth -& imputed standing.
What do you call a poor girl who marries a prince? You call her “Your Highness.”
So it is that when we came to Jesus we were spiritual paupers. Our hands were empty & our pockets were bare. We had nothing to offer & no claim to make. All our lives it had been, one step forward & two steps back but when we came to Him, we were fed, clothed, filled, forgiven, & crowned with every good thing.
Jesus took away our rags & placed around us His own righteousness. Everything that was against us was gone & everything we lacked we now have. All this happened because of Christmas. He who was rich became poor for my sake, that through His poverty I might be rich.
The Son of God became a son of man in order that the sons of men might become the sons of God.
Again, what is a right Christmas?
A—He was rich
B---He became poor
C---That we might become rich
And that’s the true meaning of Christmas.
Only one thing remains. Have you found the Christ of Christmas & asked Him to be your Savior? Have you placed your trust in Him? Have you given up your spiritual poverty for the riches He offers to you?
One of my favorite Christmas songs is “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” I love this verse;
How silently, how silently
This wondrous gift was giv’n
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessing of His heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in the world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
And so He does! May that be our experience as we all enjoy,
A RIGHT CHRISTMAS!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Blessings,
John
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Desperation Is Better Than Despair
By John Stallings
In Will Smith’s movie The Pursuit of happiness, Chris Gardner is a family man struggling to make ends meet. Left with only memories of his poor departed wife, he has the responsibility of raising his five-year-old son Christopher. His wife didn’t die; she just got tired of being poor-- & departed.
Chris, now a single father continues to doggedly pursue a better-paying job using every sales skill he knows. He lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm & seems to have a promising future.
Without a financial cushion Chris & his son are soon evicted from their apartment & forced to sleep in shelters, bus stations, bathrooms or wherever they can find refuge for the night.
Despite his troubles Chris continues to honor his commitment as a loving, caring father using the affection & trust his son has placed in him as an impetus to overcome the obstacles he faces.
I recently saw Gardner interviewed on The Fox Network. He was promoting his latest book & in the course of the interview he was asked his advice to people who had lost their employment due to the financial meltdown. Among other things he said; “It’s probably normal to get a little panicky-- but just don’t freeze.”
What stellar advice that is. Don’t freeze.
Now for another quote;-“If I weren’t a Christian I think I’d go mad. But my faith in God holds me. It holds me to the belief He is in some way working out His own plans through human perversities & mistakes.”
Do you know who spoke these words? They’re President Woodrow Wilson’s words. He wrote them in 1919 after the major defeat of his life, the defeat by his own U.S Congress of his great dream for an international forum- the League of Nations
No matter where you stand on the financial crisis we’re experiencing in the country today, the collapse is real, the impact on our lives is real & the economic peril for our beloved country is profound.
With the title for this message in mind, let me give you a few quick illustrations before I offer a little road map to follow in this or any crisis we may encounter in our lives.
Have you ever been really desperate? If not, have you ever observed a truly desperate person in action?
A minister friend of mine tells the story of arriving at a hospital to make a pastoral visit & seeing a woman knocking on the door of the hospital’s little prayer chapel saying “let me in, let me in.”
The pastor walked over to help her but found the door to the chapel was locked. He stopped a passing worker; “the chapel is locked.” The worker says, “We have to keep it locked. There are some kids that trashed it & we had to get all new furniture. We can’t afford to keep doing that so we have to keep it locked.”
My friend said, “Well find someone with a key” He came back with a woman who opened the door & the minister & the woman who’d been knocking on the door went in.
My friend noticed that the woman had come to the hospital suddenly; she had no make up, her hair had not been combed, it was obvious that she just threw something on. She had a look of desperation in her face & she said, “I know he’s going to die, I just know it.”
“Who?”Asked the minister.
“My husband.”
“What’s the matter?”
“He’s had a heart attack.”
“Can I get you some water?”
“No” she says.”
My friend tells her who he is & asks if he could pray. She says, “Please.”
As he starts to pray she takes over with her own prayer. The pastor saw she was getting through so he let her continue on her own.
“Lord, it’s not time to take my husband. You know that better than I do. He’s not ready, not a good time to take him. Don’t take him now. I have these kids to raise & I have no job skills, can’t find work. I quit school to marry him. If I’d known you were going to take him I’d have stayed in school! And God, what about the kids? They don’t mind now with him around & if he’s gone they’ll be as wild as bucks. This isn’t the time to take my husband!”
This woman was talking to God just as straight-forwardly as the pastor had ever heard it done before. He stayed for as long as he felt useful, then he left the chapel.
He went back the next morning. He saw the woman in the hallway outside intensive care. She had on a dress & make up & looked real nice. Before the pastor had time to ask she said, “He’s better.” She smiles, “I’m sorry about that crazy woman yesterday.”
My friend said, “You weren’t crazy.”
She says, “I guess the Lord heard one of us.”
My friend said, “He heard you.” She was desperate. She prayed out of desperation.
The pastor said,” She reached into heaven with her prayer & had God by the lapels with both hands & was screaming in God’s face: “I don’t think you’re listening!” That’s desperation.”
Sometimes faith is born in a time of desperation. Sometimes that faith doesn’t last & sometimes it does. It develops into a more complete & mature faith. Often in our desperation we realize that the faith we thought we had doesn’t work in the light of the difficulties of life & we’re opened up to a more radical, effective faith.
When we come to a situation like this woman was faced with, when we struggle with feelings we can’t control, when there is a rage inside us that we can’t contain, when the darkness is so thick we feel as though we’re suffocating in it, when we’re rendered powerless & stripped of all pretences & defenses, when our deepest questions about God are shrouded in mystery, or we’re brought low in humiliation-as strange as it may seem, we’re in a place that God will use to strengthen our faith in Him. When you & I get to the place God is all we have, that’s desperation time, & in those times we learn that He’s more than sufficient.
I heard about a man who was about to go crazy with fear because when he turned out the lights he thought he heard monsters crawling out from under his bed. He went to a psychologist for therapy. After many months of therapy the doctor was ready to give up.
Then one afternoon the guy came walking into the doctor’s office with a new spring in his step. The doctor asked what happened & he informed him he’d been cured. “I’m cured & I’ve been sleeping like a baby. My brother came to my house to visit me & cured me.” Amazed the doctor asked, “Is your brother a psychologist?”
“No, he’s a carpenter. He sawed the legs off my bed.”
This is what some people look for—quick fixes & easy answers. But this kind of faith is fragile & can be easily shattered. God wants us to have mature faith that has substance to it.
We don’t have to have all our questions answered or understand everything about God to get a healing. The little woman in Mark with the issue of blood had some wrong ideas about Jesus but she also had a desperate faith. She had it in her mind that Jesus’ clothes had some kind of magical qualities & if she touched the clothes she’d be healed. As far as I know that wasn’t in Jesus resume’, “if you’ll touch my clothes you’ll be healed.” But that faith, small as it was, caused her to have the audacious desperation to fight the crowds & get close enough to Jesus to touch his garment & God honored her effort.
Now let’s look at despair. One dictionary defines despair;-“The loss of hope. To lose hope; to give up.
I’ve told the story of the woman who rode the same bus to work every morning. One day an old man got on the bus. He was shabbily dressed & obviously down & out. She thought about what she should do to express Christian love to this poor man. She got up & took a dollar bill out of her purse, went over to the man, pressed the dollar into the palm of his hand & whispered, “Never despair, just remember, never despair.”
The next day the woman was on the bus again & the man got on at the same stop, & came back to where to woman was sitting. He took eight dollars out of his pocket & pressed the money into her hand. The woman was non-plussed & asked, “What’s this for?” He said, “Never Despair won the eight race at Monmouth Park yesterday.”
Millions in our nation & around the world are feeling the pangs of despair about the financial problems we’re experiencing. I used to find watching T.V relaxing but these days it's getting to be too much of a downer. You find yourself flipping channels & everywhere you turn you’re hearing things that bring you down. We see people dying in wars, crying over their dire financial situation, we see homes being re-possessed, washed away, blown away or burned up. We see & hear things we know are lies & have the feeling the programmers are trying to shape our political thoughts & feelings.
People are in despair all over the planet.
A man went to the doctor for an annual physical exam. The doctor came in & said to him, “You’re in terrible shape. If you don’t change your lifestyle you’re going to die & soon.” That got the man’s attention. He sat there for a minute & said, “Well, Doc, what should I do? Tell me the absolute best way I can get this turned around.”
Knowing him fairly well, the doctor said, --“Stop smoking, stop eating fried foods every time no one is looking, & stop staying out half the night drinking when you’re on the road.”
He was silent for a minute & then he said, “What’s the next best thing I can do?”
Sound familiar? But people in despair get trapped in self-destructive cycles & the cycles bring on more despair.
Now I’d like to offer a three point action plan, the best responses I know of for times when you’re frightened, anxious & can’t see a way through your circumstances.
1. Act. Don’t freeze.
If the woman with the issue of blood had allowed her condition to freeze her in place, she’d never have gotten her healing. She didn’t wait to feel better, she went as she was. Don’t wait to feel better about things, act & then you’ll feel better. Let’s put it this way; “we don’t feel our way into a different way of acting, we act our way into a different way of feeling.” Experts tell us, - “The most drastic & usually the most effective remedy for fear is direct action.”
I’ve been to New Orleans since Katrina & though there are still boulevards of broken dreams everywhere you look, you still can’t help but be impressed with the way people have rebuilt. There may be a government trailer pulled up beside the old ram- shackled house but the people, in so many cases are doing something to better their situation. How wise that is. Some people, strange as it might sound are even finding joy in their new beginnings.
The memory of that hellish storm will never be erased but many have found solace in the fact that their lives were spared & they can still work to rebuild their broken hopes & shattered dreams. Action! That’s how God wants us to react when bad things happen & hope seems to be shot. Get up & get busy rebuilding & helping the people around us.
I may have shared this before but it’s worth repeating. Years ago a young man came to me for advice. He had been fired from his job & was really down & out. He said, “John, what am I going to do? I prayed with him & shared all the scripture I could think of that seemed relevant but I could see he was still down, just sitting there looking sad & depressed.
Finally I decided to use a little shock therapy. I said “do you really want me to tell you what to do to get yourself jump-started?” He answered in the affirmative so I said, “this is going to sound elementary but on your way home buy a newspaper. Take the paper home, lay it on the kitchen table & open it to the want-ads. Get a pencil & put on your reading glasses. Then go down the list of help-wanted ads until you see a job opening you think you might like. Circle it, & then keep reading until you find two or three more that look good to you.”
I continued, “Tomorrow, get in your car & go check out the job possibilities, & when you find the job you feel best about, if they’ll hire you, take it. Now you’ll be employed again”
That man reacted as if he’d been shot through the head. He jumped up & said, O.K Brother John, I’ll do it.” He left my office grinning from ear to ear, acting like he’d been shot from a cannon & exposed to the wisdom of the ages. A few days later he called me & told me he’d found a better paying job than the one he had lost & just wanted to thank me for the advice. I had actually just pointed out the obvious.
Do you want me to tell you how I conjured up all that “wisdom?” Well, I’d been in exactly the same shape that young man was in & I realized that when life kicks the wind out of us, it can immobilize us to the point that we temporarily overlook the obvious & that’s to get up & get moving. Take action--Don’t freeze up. Get yourself to do the basics that you know have to be done. The secret to our success or failure in life is embedded somewhere in our everyday—that’s everyday-- actions.
This same formula of action works in the realm of the spirit. Pastor James told us—Draw nigh to God & He’ll draw nigh to you. James 4:8. James also informs us that faith without works is dead.
Point two. Pray.
When trouble strikes I strongly suggest you pray & pray hard. Paul asked the churches he built to pray for him. When Jesus’ disciples went to bed- He went to pray. If we had no other persuasion to pray, the fact that Jesus needed to pray should be enough.
When Hezekiah was told to get his house in order for he was going to die, he turned his face to the wall & prayed for more time. Immediately that prayer registered in the courts of heaven & God answered & gave him fifteen more years.
When Paul & Silas were in jail they prayed & sang songs & the jail broke open & they were released. Daniel prayed & lion’s mouths were locked. The three Hebrews boys prayed & Jesus ran down the starry stairway & jumped in the fiery furnace with them & they came out of the fire without the scent of smoke clinging to their garments.
When Saul/Paul was stricken blind on the Damascus turnpike, he prayed & his eyes were opened & he received the Holy Ghost. Jonah prayed in the belly of the great fish & was delivered. Prayer lifts us out of the mundane troubles of life & sets our feet on solid ground.
Point three. Trust
If a married couple can’t trust each other their marriage is worth nothing. If we can’t trust our friends they aren’t really friends. Lack of trust writ large is what we see lived out all too often in the world & to what end-? chaos & confusion. But when genuine trust exists we can relax. We can work together to achieve great things. As Christians our trust should always be in the Lord who told us;
Fear not for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you, & through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned neither shall the flame kindle upon you. [Isaiah 43:1-2]
If you are in despair, or in desperation, I pray these simple truths will help you press through whatever stands in your way & seek the living Christ & touch Him & be made whole.
When disaster hits, do three things. Act, pray & trust, & like Woodrow Wilson, let faith in God hold you up.
Blessings,
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
John
In Will Smith’s movie The Pursuit of happiness, Chris Gardner is a family man struggling to make ends meet. Left with only memories of his poor departed wife, he has the responsibility of raising his five-year-old son Christopher. His wife didn’t die; she just got tired of being poor-- & departed.
Chris, now a single father continues to doggedly pursue a better-paying job using every sales skill he knows. He lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm & seems to have a promising future.
Without a financial cushion Chris & his son are soon evicted from their apartment & forced to sleep in shelters, bus stations, bathrooms or wherever they can find refuge for the night.
Despite his troubles Chris continues to honor his commitment as a loving, caring father using the affection & trust his son has placed in him as an impetus to overcome the obstacles he faces.
I recently saw Gardner interviewed on The Fox Network. He was promoting his latest book & in the course of the interview he was asked his advice to people who had lost their employment due to the financial meltdown. Among other things he said; “It’s probably normal to get a little panicky-- but just don’t freeze.”
What stellar advice that is. Don’t freeze.
Now for another quote;-“If I weren’t a Christian I think I’d go mad. But my faith in God holds me. It holds me to the belief He is in some way working out His own plans through human perversities & mistakes.”
Do you know who spoke these words? They’re President Woodrow Wilson’s words. He wrote them in 1919 after the major defeat of his life, the defeat by his own U.S Congress of his great dream for an international forum- the League of Nations
No matter where you stand on the financial crisis we’re experiencing in the country today, the collapse is real, the impact on our lives is real & the economic peril for our beloved country is profound.
With the title for this message in mind, let me give you a few quick illustrations before I offer a little road map to follow in this or any crisis we may encounter in our lives.
Have you ever been really desperate? If not, have you ever observed a truly desperate person in action?
A minister friend of mine tells the story of arriving at a hospital to make a pastoral visit & seeing a woman knocking on the door of the hospital’s little prayer chapel saying “let me in, let me in.”
The pastor walked over to help her but found the door to the chapel was locked. He stopped a passing worker; “the chapel is locked.” The worker says, “We have to keep it locked. There are some kids that trashed it & we had to get all new furniture. We can’t afford to keep doing that so we have to keep it locked.”
My friend said, “Well find someone with a key” He came back with a woman who opened the door & the minister & the woman who’d been knocking on the door went in.
My friend noticed that the woman had come to the hospital suddenly; she had no make up, her hair had not been combed, it was obvious that she just threw something on. She had a look of desperation in her face & she said, “I know he’s going to die, I just know it.”
“Who?”Asked the minister.
“My husband.”
“What’s the matter?”
“He’s had a heart attack.”
“Can I get you some water?”
“No” she says.”
My friend tells her who he is & asks if he could pray. She says, “Please.”
As he starts to pray she takes over with her own prayer. The pastor saw she was getting through so he let her continue on her own.
“Lord, it’s not time to take my husband. You know that better than I do. He’s not ready, not a good time to take him. Don’t take him now. I have these kids to raise & I have no job skills, can’t find work. I quit school to marry him. If I’d known you were going to take him I’d have stayed in school! And God, what about the kids? They don’t mind now with him around & if he’s gone they’ll be as wild as bucks. This isn’t the time to take my husband!”
This woman was talking to God just as straight-forwardly as the pastor had ever heard it done before. He stayed for as long as he felt useful, then he left the chapel.
He went back the next morning. He saw the woman in the hallway outside intensive care. She had on a dress & make up & looked real nice. Before the pastor had time to ask she said, “He’s better.” She smiles, “I’m sorry about that crazy woman yesterday.”
My friend said, “You weren’t crazy.”
She says, “I guess the Lord heard one of us.”
My friend said, “He heard you.” She was desperate. She prayed out of desperation.
The pastor said,” She reached into heaven with her prayer & had God by the lapels with both hands & was screaming in God’s face: “I don’t think you’re listening!” That’s desperation.”
Sometimes faith is born in a time of desperation. Sometimes that faith doesn’t last & sometimes it does. It develops into a more complete & mature faith. Often in our desperation we realize that the faith we thought we had doesn’t work in the light of the difficulties of life & we’re opened up to a more radical, effective faith.
When we come to a situation like this woman was faced with, when we struggle with feelings we can’t control, when there is a rage inside us that we can’t contain, when the darkness is so thick we feel as though we’re suffocating in it, when we’re rendered powerless & stripped of all pretences & defenses, when our deepest questions about God are shrouded in mystery, or we’re brought low in humiliation-as strange as it may seem, we’re in a place that God will use to strengthen our faith in Him. When you & I get to the place God is all we have, that’s desperation time, & in those times we learn that He’s more than sufficient.
I heard about a man who was about to go crazy with fear because when he turned out the lights he thought he heard monsters crawling out from under his bed. He went to a psychologist for therapy. After many months of therapy the doctor was ready to give up.
Then one afternoon the guy came walking into the doctor’s office with a new spring in his step. The doctor asked what happened & he informed him he’d been cured. “I’m cured & I’ve been sleeping like a baby. My brother came to my house to visit me & cured me.” Amazed the doctor asked, “Is your brother a psychologist?”
“No, he’s a carpenter. He sawed the legs off my bed.”
This is what some people look for—quick fixes & easy answers. But this kind of faith is fragile & can be easily shattered. God wants us to have mature faith that has substance to it.
We don’t have to have all our questions answered or understand everything about God to get a healing. The little woman in Mark with the issue of blood had some wrong ideas about Jesus but she also had a desperate faith. She had it in her mind that Jesus’ clothes had some kind of magical qualities & if she touched the clothes she’d be healed. As far as I know that wasn’t in Jesus resume’, “if you’ll touch my clothes you’ll be healed.” But that faith, small as it was, caused her to have the audacious desperation to fight the crowds & get close enough to Jesus to touch his garment & God honored her effort.
Now let’s look at despair. One dictionary defines despair;-“The loss of hope. To lose hope; to give up.
I’ve told the story of the woman who rode the same bus to work every morning. One day an old man got on the bus. He was shabbily dressed & obviously down & out. She thought about what she should do to express Christian love to this poor man. She got up & took a dollar bill out of her purse, went over to the man, pressed the dollar into the palm of his hand & whispered, “Never despair, just remember, never despair.”
The next day the woman was on the bus again & the man got on at the same stop, & came back to where to woman was sitting. He took eight dollars out of his pocket & pressed the money into her hand. The woman was non-plussed & asked, “What’s this for?” He said, “Never Despair won the eight race at Monmouth Park yesterday.”
Millions in our nation & around the world are feeling the pangs of despair about the financial problems we’re experiencing. I used to find watching T.V relaxing but these days it's getting to be too much of a downer. You find yourself flipping channels & everywhere you turn you’re hearing things that bring you down. We see people dying in wars, crying over their dire financial situation, we see homes being re-possessed, washed away, blown away or burned up. We see & hear things we know are lies & have the feeling the programmers are trying to shape our political thoughts & feelings.
People are in despair all over the planet.
A man went to the doctor for an annual physical exam. The doctor came in & said to him, “You’re in terrible shape. If you don’t change your lifestyle you’re going to die & soon.” That got the man’s attention. He sat there for a minute & said, “Well, Doc, what should I do? Tell me the absolute best way I can get this turned around.”
Knowing him fairly well, the doctor said, --“Stop smoking, stop eating fried foods every time no one is looking, & stop staying out half the night drinking when you’re on the road.”
He was silent for a minute & then he said, “What’s the next best thing I can do?”
Sound familiar? But people in despair get trapped in self-destructive cycles & the cycles bring on more despair.
Now I’d like to offer a three point action plan, the best responses I know of for times when you’re frightened, anxious & can’t see a way through your circumstances.
1. Act. Don’t freeze.
If the woman with the issue of blood had allowed her condition to freeze her in place, she’d never have gotten her healing. She didn’t wait to feel better, she went as she was. Don’t wait to feel better about things, act & then you’ll feel better. Let’s put it this way; “we don’t feel our way into a different way of acting, we act our way into a different way of feeling.” Experts tell us, - “The most drastic & usually the most effective remedy for fear is direct action.”
I’ve been to New Orleans since Katrina & though there are still boulevards of broken dreams everywhere you look, you still can’t help but be impressed with the way people have rebuilt. There may be a government trailer pulled up beside the old ram- shackled house but the people, in so many cases are doing something to better their situation. How wise that is. Some people, strange as it might sound are even finding joy in their new beginnings.
The memory of that hellish storm will never be erased but many have found solace in the fact that their lives were spared & they can still work to rebuild their broken hopes & shattered dreams. Action! That’s how God wants us to react when bad things happen & hope seems to be shot. Get up & get busy rebuilding & helping the people around us.
I may have shared this before but it’s worth repeating. Years ago a young man came to me for advice. He had been fired from his job & was really down & out. He said, “John, what am I going to do? I prayed with him & shared all the scripture I could think of that seemed relevant but I could see he was still down, just sitting there looking sad & depressed.
Finally I decided to use a little shock therapy. I said “do you really want me to tell you what to do to get yourself jump-started?” He answered in the affirmative so I said, “this is going to sound elementary but on your way home buy a newspaper. Take the paper home, lay it on the kitchen table & open it to the want-ads. Get a pencil & put on your reading glasses. Then go down the list of help-wanted ads until you see a job opening you think you might like. Circle it, & then keep reading until you find two or three more that look good to you.”
I continued, “Tomorrow, get in your car & go check out the job possibilities, & when you find the job you feel best about, if they’ll hire you, take it. Now you’ll be employed again”
That man reacted as if he’d been shot through the head. He jumped up & said, O.K Brother John, I’ll do it.” He left my office grinning from ear to ear, acting like he’d been shot from a cannon & exposed to the wisdom of the ages. A few days later he called me & told me he’d found a better paying job than the one he had lost & just wanted to thank me for the advice. I had actually just pointed out the obvious.
Do you want me to tell you how I conjured up all that “wisdom?” Well, I’d been in exactly the same shape that young man was in & I realized that when life kicks the wind out of us, it can immobilize us to the point that we temporarily overlook the obvious & that’s to get up & get moving. Take action--Don’t freeze up. Get yourself to do the basics that you know have to be done. The secret to our success or failure in life is embedded somewhere in our everyday—that’s everyday-- actions.
This same formula of action works in the realm of the spirit. Pastor James told us—Draw nigh to God & He’ll draw nigh to you. James 4:8. James also informs us that faith without works is dead.
Point two. Pray.
When trouble strikes I strongly suggest you pray & pray hard. Paul asked the churches he built to pray for him. When Jesus’ disciples went to bed- He went to pray. If we had no other persuasion to pray, the fact that Jesus needed to pray should be enough.
When Hezekiah was told to get his house in order for he was going to die, he turned his face to the wall & prayed for more time. Immediately that prayer registered in the courts of heaven & God answered & gave him fifteen more years.
When Paul & Silas were in jail they prayed & sang songs & the jail broke open & they were released. Daniel prayed & lion’s mouths were locked. The three Hebrews boys prayed & Jesus ran down the starry stairway & jumped in the fiery furnace with them & they came out of the fire without the scent of smoke clinging to their garments.
When Saul/Paul was stricken blind on the Damascus turnpike, he prayed & his eyes were opened & he received the Holy Ghost. Jonah prayed in the belly of the great fish & was delivered. Prayer lifts us out of the mundane troubles of life & sets our feet on solid ground.
Point three. Trust
If a married couple can’t trust each other their marriage is worth nothing. If we can’t trust our friends they aren’t really friends. Lack of trust writ large is what we see lived out all too often in the world & to what end-? chaos & confusion. But when genuine trust exists we can relax. We can work together to achieve great things. As Christians our trust should always be in the Lord who told us;
Fear not for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you, & through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned neither shall the flame kindle upon you. [Isaiah 43:1-2]
If you are in despair, or in desperation, I pray these simple truths will help you press through whatever stands in your way & seek the living Christ & touch Him & be made whole.
When disaster hits, do three things. Act, pray & trust, & like Woodrow Wilson, let faith in God hold you up.
Blessings,
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
John
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Why McCain Lost
John Stallings
Anyone whose read my blogs of late will know I would have done almost anything to spare my country from the nightmare that is Barack Hussein Obama.
I wish I could have done more. They say when people go through stressful situations there are several steps they experience in the process. I can’t remember them all but I know the first one is denial. I’m past that step & hover somewhere over the next steps, whatever they are. Is “Spastic colon” a choice?
Before I proceed, let me say that if John McCain had won the election, I would expect the opposition to give him a chance & in the interest of national unity give him the opportunity to implement his policies. I plan to do that for Obama & am sure you will too.
Having said that, I’d like to vent a little bit & tell you why I feel John McCain lost his bid for the White House. I don’t know if I have two friends left, [if I ever had any] but I’m sure if I do I will lose them with this blog. Oh well!
Sadly for my country, I realized long ago that McCain’s resemblance to Methuselah’s granddaddy wasn’t going to play well because in our society looks matter much more than what you believe or what you’ve done. Please don’t think me insensitive here because that would be like the pot calling the kettle black.
The –lipstick/pig analogy isn’t new to this generation. From the time I was young I heard my friends say only partially in jest; “Old Stallings trying to improve his looks is like a hog putting on lipstick.” Or- “Old Stallings can’t help how he looks but he could stay home.” Or- “Stallings fell out of the ugly tree & hit every limb on the way down.” I’ve learned to live with that but please don’t think it doesn’t still hurt when I wear sun- glasses and all I hear is Roy Orbison. Whatever.
Here it is; McCain is a good & decent man & he’s certainly a hero but having said that; McCain lost because he’s McCain. He’s always been best known for his cooperation with Democrats, reaching across the aisle to embrace Big Government.
Let’s go back. For the last twenty years McCain basked in the adoration of the mainstream media. He spent so much time making alliances with the left that he forgot how to fight them if he ever knew. Can anyone say—RINO- Republican In Name Only??
The media loved him & bestowed “Maverick” on him because they loved it when a man seemed to betray his party. [Does anyone remember “Campaign Finance Reform?”?] My friend McCain shot a few of his own toes off with that one. Probably thinking him a fence-straddler, then the likes of the fickle New York Times grew bored with McCain & found other fish to fry. Hint: Obama!
Let’s be honest; if the media was all that powerful-as many of us seem to believe, why have GOP candidates won five of the last eight presidential elections?
Remember the concept of complacency? That’s where our friend McCain lost it all, -- “How could anyone brush aside a man whose been in the Senate 22 years & choose a man with questionable connections over me?” But the voters did.
Political novice that I am, I shook in my boots when McCain suspended his campaign & rushed back to Washington in September to vote for the $700-billion bailout package for financial institutions. My thought after this was; why should any borrower be responsible for his debts? The only difference between McCain & Obama’s programs was the wrapping.
Do you remember in 2007 when McCain & his buddy Ted Kennedy co-sponsored a bill to “regularize the status” of roughly 12 million “undocumented workers?” Out of this fiasco two-thirds of Hispanics voted for Obama.
MARRIAGE—here, McCain’s record was mixed. He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment each time it came before the Senate, but said he supported state marriage initiatives.
But, to my chagrin, this was one of the many social issues that McCain refused to discuss on the campaign trail even though Obama promised to repeal the Federal Defense of Marriage act [DOMA] which says states don’t have to recognize same-sex unions contracted elsewhere.
FLORIDA--Let’s look at my state of Florida. If McCain had increased his vote here by roughly 98,000—in other words, if he’d picked up 12% of the pro-marriage votes he didn’t get—he’d have won Florida’s 27 electoral votes.
Never mind that I thought McCain uncovering Obama’s campaign for gay marriage might have helped him—McCain didn’t think so.
JEREMIAH A WRIGHT—it was published in no less than NEWSWEEK that McCain had refused to discuss Obama’s racist’s pastor.
Sarah Palin believed the campaign should remind voters of Obama’s ties to Wright, whose inflammatory sermons emerged as a problem for the Democratic nominee during the primary. A McCain aide said—“If we were to go with an ad during the final weeks of this campaign showing excerpts of Wright’s sermons preached in a church where Obama & his wife contributed $26,000 in one year, we would probably win- but we won’t.”
McCain wouldn’t touch the issue so he chose sensitivity over the presidency, & in my opinion he let conservatives down. I hope you’ll forgive my seeming insensitivity here but I suppose McCain will not long from now totter off to a rest home feeling good about “not taking the low road to the White House” leaving the rest of us & our progeny to twist in the wind.
IMHO McCain let his supporters down by running a campaign without brains, heart or guts.
If you’ve read my blogs you’ll know that in choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate, I think McCain made his first & last really smart move. Other than that he was equivocal, hesitant, passionless & lacking in any real focus or genuine commitment to principles.
Maybe McCain’s best gift to the Republican Party is the political exile that lies ahead.
Maybe we’ll learn to fight again for our principles.
Maybe we’ll discover anew that we can’t compromise with an enemy that hates us & despises everything this country used to stand for.
Maybe this defeat will be John McCain’s most important contribution to his country since the Vietnam War.
Blessings,
John
Anyone whose read my blogs of late will know I would have done almost anything to spare my country from the nightmare that is Barack Hussein Obama.
I wish I could have done more. They say when people go through stressful situations there are several steps they experience in the process. I can’t remember them all but I know the first one is denial. I’m past that step & hover somewhere over the next steps, whatever they are. Is “Spastic colon” a choice?
Before I proceed, let me say that if John McCain had won the election, I would expect the opposition to give him a chance & in the interest of national unity give him the opportunity to implement his policies. I plan to do that for Obama & am sure you will too.
Having said that, I’d like to vent a little bit & tell you why I feel John McCain lost his bid for the White House. I don’t know if I have two friends left, [if I ever had any] but I’m sure if I do I will lose them with this blog. Oh well!
Sadly for my country, I realized long ago that McCain’s resemblance to Methuselah’s granddaddy wasn’t going to play well because in our society looks matter much more than what you believe or what you’ve done. Please don’t think me insensitive here because that would be like the pot calling the kettle black.
The –lipstick/pig analogy isn’t new to this generation. From the time I was young I heard my friends say only partially in jest; “Old Stallings trying to improve his looks is like a hog putting on lipstick.” Or- “Old Stallings can’t help how he looks but he could stay home.” Or- “Stallings fell out of the ugly tree & hit every limb on the way down.” I’ve learned to live with that but please don’t think it doesn’t still hurt when I wear sun- glasses and all I hear is Roy Orbison. Whatever.
Here it is; McCain is a good & decent man & he’s certainly a hero but having said that; McCain lost because he’s McCain. He’s always been best known for his cooperation with Democrats, reaching across the aisle to embrace Big Government.
Let’s go back. For the last twenty years McCain basked in the adoration of the mainstream media. He spent so much time making alliances with the left that he forgot how to fight them if he ever knew. Can anyone say—RINO- Republican In Name Only??
The media loved him & bestowed “Maverick” on him because they loved it when a man seemed to betray his party. [Does anyone remember “Campaign Finance Reform?”?] My friend McCain shot a few of his own toes off with that one. Probably thinking him a fence-straddler, then the likes of the fickle New York Times grew bored with McCain & found other fish to fry. Hint: Obama!
Let’s be honest; if the media was all that powerful-as many of us seem to believe, why have GOP candidates won five of the last eight presidential elections?
Remember the concept of complacency? That’s where our friend McCain lost it all, -- “How could anyone brush aside a man whose been in the Senate 22 years & choose a man with questionable connections over me?” But the voters did.
Political novice that I am, I shook in my boots when McCain suspended his campaign & rushed back to Washington in September to vote for the $700-billion bailout package for financial institutions. My thought after this was; why should any borrower be responsible for his debts? The only difference between McCain & Obama’s programs was the wrapping.
Do you remember in 2007 when McCain & his buddy Ted Kennedy co-sponsored a bill to “regularize the status” of roughly 12 million “undocumented workers?” Out of this fiasco two-thirds of Hispanics voted for Obama.
MARRIAGE—here, McCain’s record was mixed. He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment each time it came before the Senate, but said he supported state marriage initiatives.
But, to my chagrin, this was one of the many social issues that McCain refused to discuss on the campaign trail even though Obama promised to repeal the Federal Defense of Marriage act [DOMA] which says states don’t have to recognize same-sex unions contracted elsewhere.
FLORIDA--Let’s look at my state of Florida. If McCain had increased his vote here by roughly 98,000—in other words, if he’d picked up 12% of the pro-marriage votes he didn’t get—he’d have won Florida’s 27 electoral votes.
Never mind that I thought McCain uncovering Obama’s campaign for gay marriage might have helped him—McCain didn’t think so.
JEREMIAH A WRIGHT—it was published in no less than NEWSWEEK that McCain had refused to discuss Obama’s racist’s pastor.
Sarah Palin believed the campaign should remind voters of Obama’s ties to Wright, whose inflammatory sermons emerged as a problem for the Democratic nominee during the primary. A McCain aide said—“If we were to go with an ad during the final weeks of this campaign showing excerpts of Wright’s sermons preached in a church where Obama & his wife contributed $26,000 in one year, we would probably win- but we won’t.”
McCain wouldn’t touch the issue so he chose sensitivity over the presidency, & in my opinion he let conservatives down. I hope you’ll forgive my seeming insensitivity here but I suppose McCain will not long from now totter off to a rest home feeling good about “not taking the low road to the White House” leaving the rest of us & our progeny to twist in the wind.
IMHO McCain let his supporters down by running a campaign without brains, heart or guts.
If you’ve read my blogs you’ll know that in choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate, I think McCain made his first & last really smart move. Other than that he was equivocal, hesitant, passionless & lacking in any real focus or genuine commitment to principles.
Maybe McCain’s best gift to the Republican Party is the political exile that lies ahead.
Maybe we’ll learn to fight again for our principles.
Maybe we’ll discover anew that we can’t compromise with an enemy that hates us & despises everything this country used to stand for.
Maybe this defeat will be John McCain’s most important contribution to his country since the Vietnam War.
Blessings,
John
Monday, November 17, 2008
A Tragic Suicide
By John Stallings
I’ve conducted a few funerals of suicide victims & nothing is quite so sad. A minister has a hard time saying the right thing at such times.
But this latest case of suicide has got to be one of the most appalling I’ve ever witnessed. The victim was the liberal media & of course their demise was hastened by the election of 2008.
If you, like me have been observing the press for the last number of years, this death wasn’t a big surprise to you. We’ve been talking about their illness with acute bias for years. What was shocking was to see these people finally put the proverbial gun to their head & pull the trigger.
What makes it even more dramatic is that this years fawning over Barack Obama has finally caught the attention of a large percentage of Americans, who are usually slow catching up on things like this.
Last July in a Rasmussen poll 49% of Americans said they believed the media would be slanted for Obama & only 14% said they thought the media would benefit John McCain. They were right.
We were proud that one of the biggest stories of the campaign came out of our town, when Barbara West of WFTV in Orlando “socked it to” Joe Biden.
Maybe some of you are old enough to remember Harry Truman who became president in the mid-1940’s. He was rather plain-spoken & one day a man hollered out at one of his speeches-“give em hell Harry.” Truman answered back, “thanks- I will.” In later years Mr. Truman opined that he never actually gave anybody hell, he just told them the truth & they thought it was hell. [I trust you’ll forgive me for the use of the word hell here because to say-“the hot place below” just wouldn’t suffice.]
Anyway, Barbara West asked Biden some pointed questions & he acted as though the earth had fallen through & he’d landed in the flames of perdition.
It was obvious from watching the interview that Mr. Biden expected to be asked the puffball questions he’d become accustomed to & when Ms. West referenced the Karl Marx quote: “from each according to his ability to each according to his needs,” then asked if Senator Obama’s comment about “spreading the wealth around” was a socialist mechanism, Mr. Biden asked, “is this a joke? Are you joking? Is this a real question?”
Told by West it was a real question, the Senator laughed & then proceeded to deny that Sen.Obama’s plan is “spreading the wealth around.” Very funny!!
But Ms. West wasn’t through with Biden & continued in her “brazen act of responsible journalism.” She slapped the poor guy around until he practically had a “snit-fit,” afterward cutting WFTV off from any further interviews during the campaign, the first of which was the cancellation of a scheduled interview with Sen. Biden’s wife Jill.
I don’t know about you but this to me reflects a very troubling attitude & pulls back the shades to let us see what kind of place the White House will likely be in a few short weeks.
It was obvious when the lovely & gracious Gov. Palin appeared on the scene, the immature & petulant media didn’t know how to act or to respond to her except to resort to spending time & ink on allegations against her husband & children, her newborn Down syndrome baby boy & accusing her of being an “unacceptably fundamentalist Christian.” What does this reaction portend for the future of Christians in the days, months & years ahead?
And, this isn’t even mentioning the ridicule heaped on Palin & McCain by the so-called humorists, especially on the late night shows. What a sad commentary on our nation that people would think this kind of thing funny, & allow it to affect their political opinions- but then that’s the post-Christian world we live in now.
Joy Behar of “The View” who’s reputed to be a comedienne herself told Larry King speaking of Obama, “He’s not funny Larry. He’s not a joke.” Maybe it all depends on your perspective Ms. Behar.
The U.S Constitution protects free speech, & the framers were wise to give the press the freedom to keep the American people informed in an unbiased & objective way & provide them the information to make sensible, informed decisions in life & in elections.
But this disgraceful abandonment of its duty to the American people by the media has been its own undoing & carries within it the seeds of its own destruction.
If the definition of “life” for the media is- to be trusted, & believed, -then they’re dead because their credibility is nil after this election.
2008 will be remembered as the year the American media died by its own hand.
Blessings,
John
I’ve conducted a few funerals of suicide victims & nothing is quite so sad. A minister has a hard time saying the right thing at such times.
But this latest case of suicide has got to be one of the most appalling I’ve ever witnessed. The victim was the liberal media & of course their demise was hastened by the election of 2008.
If you, like me have been observing the press for the last number of years, this death wasn’t a big surprise to you. We’ve been talking about their illness with acute bias for years. What was shocking was to see these people finally put the proverbial gun to their head & pull the trigger.
What makes it even more dramatic is that this years fawning over Barack Obama has finally caught the attention of a large percentage of Americans, who are usually slow catching up on things like this.
Last July in a Rasmussen poll 49% of Americans said they believed the media would be slanted for Obama & only 14% said they thought the media would benefit John McCain. They were right.
We were proud that one of the biggest stories of the campaign came out of our town, when Barbara West of WFTV in Orlando “socked it to” Joe Biden.
Maybe some of you are old enough to remember Harry Truman who became president in the mid-1940’s. He was rather plain-spoken & one day a man hollered out at one of his speeches-“give em hell Harry.” Truman answered back, “thanks- I will.” In later years Mr. Truman opined that he never actually gave anybody hell, he just told them the truth & they thought it was hell. [I trust you’ll forgive me for the use of the word hell here because to say-“the hot place below” just wouldn’t suffice.]
Anyway, Barbara West asked Biden some pointed questions & he acted as though the earth had fallen through & he’d landed in the flames of perdition.
It was obvious from watching the interview that Mr. Biden expected to be asked the puffball questions he’d become accustomed to & when Ms. West referenced the Karl Marx quote: “from each according to his ability to each according to his needs,” then asked if Senator Obama’s comment about “spreading the wealth around” was a socialist mechanism, Mr. Biden asked, “is this a joke? Are you joking? Is this a real question?”
Told by West it was a real question, the Senator laughed & then proceeded to deny that Sen.Obama’s plan is “spreading the wealth around.” Very funny!!
But Ms. West wasn’t through with Biden & continued in her “brazen act of responsible journalism.” She slapped the poor guy around until he practically had a “snit-fit,” afterward cutting WFTV off from any further interviews during the campaign, the first of which was the cancellation of a scheduled interview with Sen. Biden’s wife Jill.
I don’t know about you but this to me reflects a very troubling attitude & pulls back the shades to let us see what kind of place the White House will likely be in a few short weeks.
It was obvious when the lovely & gracious Gov. Palin appeared on the scene, the immature & petulant media didn’t know how to act or to respond to her except to resort to spending time & ink on allegations against her husband & children, her newborn Down syndrome baby boy & accusing her of being an “unacceptably fundamentalist Christian.” What does this reaction portend for the future of Christians in the days, months & years ahead?
And, this isn’t even mentioning the ridicule heaped on Palin & McCain by the so-called humorists, especially on the late night shows. What a sad commentary on our nation that people would think this kind of thing funny, & allow it to affect their political opinions- but then that’s the post-Christian world we live in now.
Joy Behar of “The View” who’s reputed to be a comedienne herself told Larry King speaking of Obama, “He’s not funny Larry. He’s not a joke.” Maybe it all depends on your perspective Ms. Behar.
The U.S Constitution protects free speech, & the framers were wise to give the press the freedom to keep the American people informed in an unbiased & objective way & provide them the information to make sensible, informed decisions in life & in elections.
But this disgraceful abandonment of its duty to the American people by the media has been its own undoing & carries within it the seeds of its own destruction.
If the definition of “life” for the media is- to be trusted, & believed, -then they’re dead because their credibility is nil after this election.
2008 will be remembered as the year the American media died by its own hand.
Blessings,
John
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sermon To Myself About The Coming Election
By John Stallings
If you’re a regular reader of my blog you know that I’ve been taking the coming presidential election very seriously.
So much so, that I’ve allowed myself to get into “election overload” lately. God has spoken to my heart & I wanted to post one more blog before the big day & share what He’s given me, trusting it will help some of you who may feel as I do.
I won’t go in to all the reasons the coming election is so crucial; I’m sure you are as aware of that as I am.
I’ve been an “election junkie” for the last almost thirty years & have become more intensely passionate about the way things are going since the early nineties. I realize many of you share that intensity no matter what side of the partisan fence you may be on.
THIS ISN’T A “CONCESSION” MESSAGE
Despite the clandestine activities of the liberal media, prayer can pull McCain/Palin across the finish line in what could well be a “photo-finish.”
During the last few months I’ve prayed-- almost without ceasing, given money, voted, preached, written blogs as well as letters to the president & congressmen & anything else I could do short of wearing a sandwich-board sign & parading down the street.
We can’t escape the talking-heads on radio & television telling us that this is probably the most important election of our lives indeed it has the potential of being apocalyptic.
I think we would all agree that given the “financial Tsunami” our country is going through, it isn’t over-stating the case to say the stakes in this election are VERY high.
I’ve been sickened with the double standard on display in the press as they have dripped contempt all over Sarah Palin while exhibiting fawning indulgence to Joe Biden.
I’ve just about had it with the so-called news -men who skin Sarah Palin alive every chance they get, while turning a deaf ear to Joe Biden when he says things that would have embarrassed Forest Gump.
If you’re a regular reader of my blog you know that I’ve been taking the coming presidential election very seriously.
So much so, that I’ve allowed myself to get into “election overload” lately. God has spoken to my heart & I wanted to post one more blog before the big day & share what He’s given me, trusting it will help some of you who may feel as I do.
I won’t go in to all the reasons the coming election is so crucial; I’m sure you are as aware of that as I am.
I’ve been an “election junkie” for the last almost thirty years & have become more intensely passionate about the way things are going since the early nineties. I realize many of you share that intensity no matter what side of the partisan fence you may be on.
THIS ISN’T A “CONCESSION” MESSAGE
Despite the clandestine activities of the liberal media, prayer can pull McCain/Palin across the finish line in what could well be a “photo-finish.”
During the last few months I’ve prayed-- almost without ceasing, given money, voted, preached, written blogs as well as letters to the president & congressmen & anything else I could do short of wearing a sandwich-board sign & parading down the street.
We can’t escape the talking-heads on radio & television telling us that this is probably the most important election of our lives indeed it has the potential of being apocalyptic.
I think we would all agree that given the “financial Tsunami” our country is going through, it isn’t over-stating the case to say the stakes in this election are VERY high.
I’ve been sickened with the double standard on display in the press as they have dripped contempt all over Sarah Palin while exhibiting fawning indulgence to Joe Biden.
I’ve just about had it with the so-called news -men who skin Sarah Palin alive every chance they get, while turning a deaf ear to Joe Biden when he says things that would have embarrassed Forest Gump.
We’ve all watched the news-people set traps for Sarah & tell outright lies about she & her family while the likes of George Stephanopoulos won’t let Obama’s statement “My Muslim religion” stand,- correcting the statement for him right on the spot.
And so, as I pondered what to write, & more importantly what we all need to hear right now, I could think of nothing better than to share what God has preached to my heart.
I need to take a deep breath & be reminded that we’re all in God’s hands & that whatever happens, we'll be hidden with Christ in God & our lives will still be in the hands of a never-changing, eternally loving, gracious Father who is sovereign & who will reign supreme & work out His eternal will no matter who walks into the Oval office early next year.
I need to remind myself that light will always overcome darkness just as in Christ, life will ultimately overcome death.
I need to remind myself that far more important than seeing my candidate triumph, I must continue to be a repairer of the breach & continue to fight the fight of faith.
I need to rest in God & find my strength in Him who has promised to never leave or forsake me & accept what comes & keep going.
I need to “hand-off the heaviness” to God because He can carry it. I can’t & I don’t have to.
I need to remind myself that even though the stars fall I can find victory in He who attends the funerals of sparrows & surely, come what may, He can give to me a supple spirit & a singing heart.
So I am calm & I’m accomplishing it one day at a time by continuing to live in that peaceful center, my life in God.
I trust & pray that this will be useful to anyone who’s been suffering from “election overload” or maybe “concern overload.”
When my heart is breaking with grief & sorrow; when my mind is almost numb from trying to answer questions that are beyond my capacity to comprehend; when evil seems to triumph; when goodness & decency are being trampled in the dust; when sneering faces mock me or ugly voices ask; "Where is your God?"....I go to the cross. I remember how they mocked Him. I remember how they hurt Him.
I remember how He died.
I remember how He died.
I see the dignity of His spirit. I see the strenght of one who says: "Nothing you do to me can destroy my life or my love. Nothing you can do can defeat my fathers plan." I remember His passion. And I say to those who would mock our faith or ridicule our God: This is where I take my stand: beneath the cross of Jesus. I believe and trust in the One who gave His life & love for the whole world & for me. I place my faith in the One who rose from the dead & pushed back the stone on Easter morning!
I trust the promises of the One who said: I will be with you always.
However this election turns out there will be much work to do & we’ll all need to stay engaged in life with a hopeful spirit remembering always that we serve the man who saw the troubled waters congeal under his feet & we’re floating on the great river of God’s grace.
EVERY BLESSING,
John
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
God Help The U.S.A
By John Stallings
Here’s what an Obama presidency would look like.
First there would be the “Terrible Trio” of Obama, Pelosi & Reid.
Then immediate amnesty would be given to-- from 12 to 20 million illegal aliens.
Next, Universal health care would be provided quickly to all of these, giving an even greater reason for the world to break down our doors to get in.
These grateful people will be registered as Democrats, probably destroying any Republican victories at ballot boxes for decades.
Border security would drop through the cracks & a virtual open border would exist with Mexico of 110 million.
America will become an abortion-mill compliments of the “Freedom of Choice Act.”
Hiring based on race, sex & sexual orientation [Affirmative action] until specified quotas are reached will be strictly enforced in all segments of society.
Wealth will be “spread around” or “Redistributed” like Obama said.
Homosexual marriages will be recognized in all states, forced by Congress or the Courts.
Special consideration will be given to homosexuals. It will be written into all civil rights laws. Gays & lesbians will be invited to come out of the closet so they can be respected & accepted as normal by our society.
More liberal judges will be named to the Supreme Court stacking the deck with people who’ll staunchly protect things most Christians oppose.
Rep. Barney Frank has already called for a 25 percent slash in national defense spending. John Kerry is touting a massive federal spending bill.
Recently Europe raised taxes & cut defense spending, knowing the U.S would stand behind them if there were any problems. We should ask ourselves, -- who’s going to stand with the U.S when we follow suit, raising taxes & slashing defense spending?
Taxes will be raised on the most successful wage-earners who already carry 60% of the tax burden & to implement “spreading the wealth” tens of millions of checks will be sent to the 40% of wage-earners that pay no federal income tax.
Social security taxes will go up on the most successful folk & capital gains taxes will be raised, The Bush tax cuts will disappear & death taxes will be re-imposed.
America’s first trillion-dollar deficit will be seen in the first year of an Obama presidency. It will likely be the first of many.
This is merely a short list of what an Obama-Nation would look like.
When it comes to “Spreading the wealth” Americans have always done that themselves, being the most generous givers the world has ever seen.
American farmers have fed the world for decades. Certainly there is no need for government to take over & mandate something we’ve proven we can & will do out of the goodness of our hearts.
I’m probably preaching to the choir on this but at any rate, let’s all make sure we vote & be sure to pray that the changes listed here will never see the light of day in our nation.
God Help The U.S. A!!!
John
Here’s what an Obama presidency would look like.
First there would be the “Terrible Trio” of Obama, Pelosi & Reid.
Then immediate amnesty would be given to-- from 12 to 20 million illegal aliens.
Next, Universal health care would be provided quickly to all of these, giving an even greater reason for the world to break down our doors to get in.
These grateful people will be registered as Democrats, probably destroying any Republican victories at ballot boxes for decades.
Border security would drop through the cracks & a virtual open border would exist with Mexico of 110 million.
America will become an abortion-mill compliments of the “Freedom of Choice Act.”
Hiring based on race, sex & sexual orientation [Affirmative action] until specified quotas are reached will be strictly enforced in all segments of society.
Wealth will be “spread around” or “Redistributed” like Obama said.
Homosexual marriages will be recognized in all states, forced by Congress or the Courts.
Special consideration will be given to homosexuals. It will be written into all civil rights laws. Gays & lesbians will be invited to come out of the closet so they can be respected & accepted as normal by our society.
More liberal judges will be named to the Supreme Court stacking the deck with people who’ll staunchly protect things most Christians oppose.
Rep. Barney Frank has already called for a 25 percent slash in national defense spending. John Kerry is touting a massive federal spending bill.
Recently Europe raised taxes & cut defense spending, knowing the U.S would stand behind them if there were any problems. We should ask ourselves, -- who’s going to stand with the U.S when we follow suit, raising taxes & slashing defense spending?
Taxes will be raised on the most successful wage-earners who already carry 60% of the tax burden & to implement “spreading the wealth” tens of millions of checks will be sent to the 40% of wage-earners that pay no federal income tax.
Social security taxes will go up on the most successful folk & capital gains taxes will be raised, The Bush tax cuts will disappear & death taxes will be re-imposed.
America’s first trillion-dollar deficit will be seen in the first year of an Obama presidency. It will likely be the first of many.
This is merely a short list of what an Obama-Nation would look like.
When it comes to “Spreading the wealth” Americans have always done that themselves, being the most generous givers the world has ever seen.
American farmers have fed the world for decades. Certainly there is no need for government to take over & mandate something we’ve proven we can & will do out of the goodness of our hearts.
I’m probably preaching to the choir on this but at any rate, let’s all make sure we vote & be sure to pray that the changes listed here will never see the light of day in our nation.
God Help The U.S. A!!!
John
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Devastation Of Rejected Knowledge
By John Stallings
For the last few days I have been meditating on Hosea 4: 1-6 where God has a controversy with His people Israel. Listen;
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.—Hosea 4:6
Israel had played the harlot with the sinful nations around her throwing aside the love of a beneficent God to “play footsie” with her impotent “lovers.” [Hosea 2:4-13]
Having thrown aside God’s laws Israel now lived according to the flesh & bore the fruit of violent selfishness.
If you read the passage you’ll see the problem wasn’t that Israel didn’t know the truth or hadn’t been warned about the error of their ways; No! They had heard the truth, & knew the truth but had blatantly rejected it.
Again; Israel had heard it, knew it- & had rejected God’s truth, wisdom & knowledge.
Ladies & gentlemen I am afraid for us as I write these words. I fear America is doing the same thing Israel did.
What can we say except God have mercy, of a nation that has been so weakened morally that its children are exposed to guns, drugs, even heroin, & rape in public school but aren’t allowed to pray? Unbelievable! A school without prayer is a school without God. A nation without prayer is a nation that denies God.
Just as Israel, when a nation rejects God they reap what they’ve sown. America has rejected God & now what we observe taking place are the results.
How can America justify, 35 years after the Roe V. Wade decision-- that allowed over 40,000,000 Americans to be murdered,-- handing over power to Obama who promises before he takes off his overcoat after his inauguration, [God forbid] he’ll be ushered into a room & sign the Freedom of Choice Act, [let’s don’t give those tiny Americans a chance for the breath of life to enter their lungs] which would eliminate every other law against all aspects of abortion, including partial birth abortion, parental notification etc.
IMHO, if women are so anxious to take control over their bodies let them exercise some restraint before they go to bed.
God’s Word plainly states among the things He hates are….hands that shed innocent blood. Proverbs 6:17.
Far from that; I feel that through prayer, after we’ve cast our votes, we can see the right feet in the stirrups & the right people swinging into the saddles a few weeks from now.
But how did we get where we are? How can it be that the greatest spiritual leaders in America are saying the only thing left to do is fall on our faces & beg God to have mercy?
How can it be that we are slip- sliding on a perilous cliff that could within weeks have our beloved nation lurching so far to the liberal left that much that has been accomplished for good in the last several decades could be set to the torch within hours?
We thought the young generation had been given a semblance of spiritual grounding; I think somehow we thought they would just “pick it up” in a few bible classes & a few sermons, but evidently, for the most part they haven’t.
Somehow after being taught God’s word people either haven’t heard it or they’ve outright rejected it. How else can you account for the fact that so many good people aren’t alarmed when they hear about a regime’ poised to take over the halls of power making Washington D.C “filibuster proof,” [meaning you can’t argue with them,] & take it as casually as if a gnat had landed on their sleeve?
HE DARKENED THEIR FOOLISH HEARTS—Romans 1:21-31
We deserve the judgment of God for the wickedness we’ve allowed to grow & be disseminated from these once hallowed shores & for allowing laws to be passed that trumped God’s laws.
But God’s mercy can & will once again take precedent over His hand of Judgment just as He’s done in many elections in the recent past.
But we must pray for this grace & mercy to capture the hearts of our people & a tidal-wave of petitions will rise to touch the throne of God.
Listen to Joel 2:17-18;
Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord weep between the porch and the alter, and let them say, Spare thy people O Lord and give not thine heritage to reproach that the heathen should rule over them; wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God. Then the Lord will be jealous for His land and pity His people.
Friend, join me & many others in losing a little sleep if necessary so that we can pray this thing through, but let's not lose this election.
If we will call on the name of the Lord non-stop & engage the powers of darkness in this matter-- we will be victorious.
If we don’t, we will see one of the greatest things God ever accomplished on this dusty planet set back so far it would take a generation to recover, if it ever did.
Don't lose hope but rather be a prayer worrior & we'll see God turn this thing around.
God bless you & God bless America,
John
For the last few days I have been meditating on Hosea 4: 1-6 where God has a controversy with His people Israel. Listen;
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.—Hosea 4:6
Israel had played the harlot with the sinful nations around her throwing aside the love of a beneficent God to “play footsie” with her impotent “lovers.” [Hosea 2:4-13]
Having thrown aside God’s laws Israel now lived according to the flesh & bore the fruit of violent selfishness.
If you read the passage you’ll see the problem wasn’t that Israel didn’t know the truth or hadn’t been warned about the error of their ways; No! They had heard the truth, & knew the truth but had blatantly rejected it.
Again; Israel had heard it, knew it- & had rejected God’s truth, wisdom & knowledge.
Ladies & gentlemen I am afraid for us as I write these words. I fear America is doing the same thing Israel did.
What can we say except God have mercy, of a nation that has been so weakened morally that its children are exposed to guns, drugs, even heroin, & rape in public school but aren’t allowed to pray? Unbelievable! A school without prayer is a school without God. A nation without prayer is a nation that denies God.
Just as Israel, when a nation rejects God they reap what they’ve sown. America has rejected God & now what we observe taking place are the results.
How can America justify, 35 years after the Roe V. Wade decision-- that allowed over 40,000,000 Americans to be murdered,-- handing over power to Obama who promises before he takes off his overcoat after his inauguration, [God forbid] he’ll be ushered into a room & sign the Freedom of Choice Act, [let’s don’t give those tiny Americans a chance for the breath of life to enter their lungs] which would eliminate every other law against all aspects of abortion, including partial birth abortion, parental notification etc.
IMHO, if women are so anxious to take control over their bodies let them exercise some restraint before they go to bed.
God’s Word plainly states among the things He hates are….hands that shed innocent blood. Proverbs 6:17.
As you know, all it takes to control America is 5 people--5 out of the 9 who sit on the Supreme Court. And these people are appointed for life. During Bush's tenure he's started to turn this court around by appointing Roberts & Alito. I probably don't need to inform you that both Obama & Biden voted against the confirmation of these men.
We need one more judge to start to turn the court around & to consistently see decisions made that God can honor in America. Obama himself has said that the next president will appoint at least one maybe two more Supreme Court Justices. Two or more older liberal judges are in all probability waiting until after the election to retire & if Obama is elected they will be replaced & with liberal Justices.
THIS ISN’T A “CONCESSION” BLOGFar from that; I feel that through prayer, after we’ve cast our votes, we can see the right feet in the stirrups & the right people swinging into the saddles a few weeks from now.
But how did we get where we are? How can it be that the greatest spiritual leaders in America are saying the only thing left to do is fall on our faces & beg God to have mercy?
How can it be that we are slip- sliding on a perilous cliff that could within weeks have our beloved nation lurching so far to the liberal left that much that has been accomplished for good in the last several decades could be set to the torch within hours?
We thought the young generation had been given a semblance of spiritual grounding; I think somehow we thought they would just “pick it up” in a few bible classes & a few sermons, but evidently, for the most part they haven’t.
Somehow after being taught God’s word people either haven’t heard it or they’ve outright rejected it. How else can you account for the fact that so many good people aren’t alarmed when they hear about a regime’ poised to take over the halls of power making Washington D.C “filibuster proof,” [meaning you can’t argue with them,] & take it as casually as if a gnat had landed on their sleeve?
HE DARKENED THEIR FOOLISH HEARTS—Romans 1:21-31
We deserve the judgment of God for the wickedness we’ve allowed to grow & be disseminated from these once hallowed shores & for allowing laws to be passed that trumped God’s laws.
But God’s mercy can & will once again take precedent over His hand of Judgment just as He’s done in many elections in the recent past.
But we must pray for this grace & mercy to capture the hearts of our people & a tidal-wave of petitions will rise to touch the throne of God.
Listen to Joel 2:17-18;
Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord weep between the porch and the alter, and let them say, Spare thy people O Lord and give not thine heritage to reproach that the heathen should rule over them; wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God. Then the Lord will be jealous for His land and pity His people.
Friend, join me & many others in losing a little sleep if necessary so that we can pray this thing through, but let's not lose this election.
If we will call on the name of the Lord non-stop & engage the powers of darkness in this matter-- we will be victorious.
If we don’t, we will see one of the greatest things God ever accomplished on this dusty planet set back so far it would take a generation to recover, if it ever did.
Don't lose hope but rather be a prayer worrior & we'll see God turn this thing around.
God bless you & God bless America,
John
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
I Weep For My Country
By John Stallings
Although I greatly respect John McCain, he was not my pick from the field of Republicans. However, I’ve evaluated the two men left standing after the primaries & I have no choice but to vote for John McCain.
No man is perfect & there don't seem to be any more Ronald Reagan’s around so our mail-in votes have already been cast for McCain.
Let’s be honest. Barack Obama is youthful, seems bright, articulate, smart, amiable, hip & overall likable. I’d even go so far as to say in those departments he has a leg up on McCain.
I’ve been following politics since the fifties & it looks to me like Obama is one of the most popular candidates since JFK. However when I examine his record his charisma fades away to reveal a man who stands for nearly everything I oppose.
The political figure who perhaps has received the most ridicule in the past twenty years is Dan Quayle, largely due to a misspelled word on a flashcard he read during an appearance at a school.
I wonder how much more grief would have been heaped on Vice President Quayle if he’d made any of the following mistakes committed by Barack Obama;
Last May he claimed that Kansas tornadoes killed a whopping 10,000 people: “In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died---an entire town destroyed.” The actual death toll was 12.
Once he redrew the map of the United States: “Over the last 15 months we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States, I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.”
# I oppose an Obama presidency because it would mean Michelle Obama would be First lady.
During the primaries she said: “For the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country.”
Come again? Presumably she’s proud of America for the first time because of the popularity of her husband & the very real possibility of his becoming president.
Let’s see. Michelle Obama was never proud when she read of the Founding Fathers who heroically founded this nation & the wonderful rights & liberties they enshrined in our Declaration of Independence & Bill of Rights.
Obviously she never felt a moment of pride when she became aware for the first time in history it was this country that put the first human footsteps on the surface of the moon. Wasn’t she proud when she read that they took a car with them & drove it around on the lunar surface?
Obviously Michelle never felt a sense of pride in America for the thousands of scientific, technological & medical advances that our people created that she & her children benefit from everyday.
“Say it ain’t so.” The list of things Michelle Obama could have felt pride in as an American is endless as far as I’m concerned but evidently she never once felt that pride until Barack found fame & fortune in America.
Michelle, Michelle, I will pray everyday for you that your eyes will be opened but lady you aren’t leadership material at least not right now.
# I oppose an Obama presidency because of abortion/life issues.
All humans are made in God’s image starting from conception. God forbids murder & therefore the killing of the unborn is immoral & sinful especially so because they are utterly helpless. They are among “the least of these” that Jesus told us to care for.
On abortion Obama is stridently pro-choice. He earned a zero rating by the National Right to Life Committee. [NRLC] Forgive me for pointing out the obvious but that’s as low as you can score.
In 2007 Obama voted against the banning of partial birth abortion. Partial-birth abortion isn’t just any abortion. It involves partially removing the baby from the womb & killing it.
By Obama’s own admission, he’s such an ignoramus he doesn’t know when life begins. He says that’s above his pay grade.
Let’s look at Obama’s actual answer when Rick Warren asked— “At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?”
“Well, uh, you know, I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or, uh, a scientific perspective, uh, answering that question with specificity, uh, you know, is, is, uh, above my pay grade.”
No man is perfect & there don't seem to be any more Ronald Reagan’s around so our mail-in votes have already been cast for McCain.
Let’s be honest. Barack Obama is youthful, seems bright, articulate, smart, amiable, hip & overall likable. I’d even go so far as to say in those departments he has a leg up on McCain.
I’ve been following politics since the fifties & it looks to me like Obama is one of the most popular candidates since JFK. However when I examine his record his charisma fades away to reveal a man who stands for nearly everything I oppose.
The political figure who perhaps has received the most ridicule in the past twenty years is Dan Quayle, largely due to a misspelled word on a flashcard he read during an appearance at a school.
I wonder how much more grief would have been heaped on Vice President Quayle if he’d made any of the following mistakes committed by Barack Obama;
Last May he claimed that Kansas tornadoes killed a whopping 10,000 people: “In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died---an entire town destroyed.” The actual death toll was 12.
Once he redrew the map of the United States: “Over the last 15 months we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States, I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.”
# I oppose an Obama presidency because it would mean Michelle Obama would be First lady.
During the primaries she said: “For the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country.”
Come again? Presumably she’s proud of America for the first time because of the popularity of her husband & the very real possibility of his becoming president.
Let’s see. Michelle Obama was never proud when she read of the Founding Fathers who heroically founded this nation & the wonderful rights & liberties they enshrined in our Declaration of Independence & Bill of Rights.
Obviously she never felt a moment of pride when she became aware for the first time in history it was this country that put the first human footsteps on the surface of the moon. Wasn’t she proud when she read that they took a car with them & drove it around on the lunar surface?
Obviously Michelle never felt a sense of pride in America for the thousands of scientific, technological & medical advances that our people created that she & her children benefit from everyday.
“Say it ain’t so.” The list of things Michelle Obama could have felt pride in as an American is endless as far as I’m concerned but evidently she never once felt that pride until Barack found fame & fortune in America.
Michelle, Michelle, I will pray everyday for you that your eyes will be opened but lady you aren’t leadership material at least not right now.
# I oppose an Obama presidency because of abortion/life issues.
All humans are made in God’s image starting from conception. God forbids murder & therefore the killing of the unborn is immoral & sinful especially so because they are utterly helpless. They are among “the least of these” that Jesus told us to care for.
On abortion Obama is stridently pro-choice. He earned a zero rating by the National Right to Life Committee. [NRLC] Forgive me for pointing out the obvious but that’s as low as you can score.
In 2007 Obama voted against the banning of partial birth abortion. Partial-birth abortion isn’t just any abortion. It involves partially removing the baby from the womb & killing it.
By Obama’s own admission, he’s such an ignoramus he doesn’t know when life begins. He says that’s above his pay grade.
Let’s look at Obama’s actual answer when Rick Warren asked— “At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?”
“Well, uh, you know, I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or, uh, a scientific perspective, uh, answering that question with specificity, uh, you know, is, is, uh, above my pay grade.”
This obvious attempt to be as ambiguous as possible so that he doesn’t offend those who disagree with him is ridiculous for someone running for President.
Biology tells us that that life begins at conception once a complete genetic code comes into being. What else could it be? This isn’t difficult.
Even if we’re not sure when life begins that doesn’t justify abortion on demand & we should err on the side of caution, especially since we’ve already murdered 40,000,000 Americans in the womb.
At Saddleback Community Church John McCain said that the fetus has human rights from the beginning. He’s polar opposite of Obama & so is Sarah Palin.
Obama would appoint several Supreme Court justices & you can bet they’d be pro-choice with a vengeance, wiping out the chance that Roe v. Wade would be reversed.
Another thing, Obama would fund abortions through tax payer’s money, chapter & verse from the Democratic Platform.
Moreover, Obama opposed a “born-alive” statute in Illinois that would allow hospitals to save aborted babies that survived their own execution.
# Obama also believes in embryonic stem cell research, which often results in the destruction of human embryos, & is a form of abortion on a premature scale.
Not that this research is intrinsically bad in & of itself but there are sources of stem cells besides human embryos. I believe we should avoid using human embryos for stem-cell research. IMHO America would do well not to “tug-on-Superman’s Cape” anymore than she already has when it comes to tinkering around with God’s precious gift of life.
# I oppose an Obama presidency because of his stand on Gay Rights & marriage.
Again here’s an area where Obama is quite liberal & I believe wrong. He has stated that homosexuality is not a choice & is no more immoral than heterosexuality. While he opposes gay marriage he believes it’s a matter that should be left up to the states. As a Christian I personally cannot in good conscience vote for someone who supports these things.
# I oppose an Obama presidency because of his positions on gun control.
As a supporter of the Second Amendment, I find cold comfort in Obama’s attitude toward guns. Maybe I’m just an old-fashioned southerner with a dash of red-neck thrown in but I happen to believe guns don’t kill, - people kill & if we disarm the citizenry only the crooks will have guns.—I’m with Heston; “From my cold dead hands.”
# Privatization of Social Security
As regards Social Security, I think people should have the option to do their own thing with at least a segment of their S.S money at their own discretion. Obama opposes that.
The 19 terrorists who knocked the Trade Center down had 38 drivers’ licenses between them. That’s thirty-eight! They were bogus but they could never have done what they did without them. But why pave the way for other terrorists by just giving drivers licenses to all illegal immigrants? Obama supported giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
Obama believes in a bill that would give a form of amnesty to illegal immigrants. That would include platinum health-care for about 14 million illegal immigrants. How much more money is China going to let us borrow?
Terrorism
Obama has no military experience. Like most political liberals he views terrorism as a criminal justice question, not one of military concern. He was opposed to funding for the Iraq war & would likely lose that war if elected, turning Iraq into a bloodbath & a likely terrorist stronghold with Iranians swooping in like vultures. They’re already supporting terrorism around the world.
I also feel strongly that the question of Iran developing an atomic weapon will likely be decided in the upcoming election.
John McCain is a military man & has served in the Senate for over twenty years with all the experience that comes with it. He supported the troop surge [consequently we’ve practically decimated Al Quida] when it was unpopular & realizes we can’t pull out of Iraq until the job is done.
I also like McCain’s stand on not wanting to socialize health-care & create a huge bureaucracy.
I’m a pro-life, pro-family, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-growth, small government, law abiding conservative American Christian & I find Barack Obama to be the political epitome & antithesis of everything I oppose.
According to the following statement from an Obama speech last summer, it appears pretty much everyone who isn’t Obama is a lesser being.
“…..I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back & tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick & good jobs for the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow & our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war & secured our nation & restored our image at last, best hope on earth.
This was the moment….this was the time…when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves & our highest ideals.”
If Obama is able to slow the rise of the oceans then ending poverty & securing peace should be a cakewalk.
I’m just guessing now but I suppose Obama would only be able to accomplish such feats if he’s elected President.
It’s not about the tint of his skin. It’s not about his race. It’s not about his ethnicity it’s not about his charisma, gravitas, his personality or whatever you call it. I don’t work that way. It’s about his policies & I disagree with Obama on policy.
Because of the policies I’ve mentioned here, & others of his values that would take too long to enumerate, I oppose Barack Obama as President of the United States.
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A
Blessings,
John
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Does God Forgive All Sin? Not Quite.
By John Stallings
…All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto man-- but…….Matt.12:31
Recently a mother placed her small baby in a microwave oven & killed It. “That’s unforgivable,” we might say, but God would say, “No. If she’ll humble herself & ask for pardon, I’ll forgive freely.”
A mother in South Carolina placed her three children in a car & rolled the car into a lake drowning them all. Some might say, “That’s unthinkable. Anyone who’d do that deserves no mercy.” But God would say, “My grace is sufficient for that woman. If she’ll repent, I’ll forgive her.”
A doctor in England a few years ago threw acid in the eyes of his wife because she cheated on him. He slashed her face with a knife telling her, “No man will ever look at you again.” We might think that sin beyond mercy but God would find it totally forgivable.
Though O.J Simpson was found innocent, many people still believe he practically decapitated his wife & another man. We might look at that sin & have no feelings of sympathy for O.J, but God would forgive him if he’d killed a dozen people; if he confessed & asked forgiveness.
There are people who’ll kidnap a pregnant woman, slash open her belly & steal her baby leaving her to die. There are also people who will drug their victim, place them in a bathtub filled with ice & when the person wakes up they find the tub filled with bloody water & realize one of their kidneys was stolen.
God sees all these sins as horrible & certainly expects individuals to pay for their crimes according to the laws of man. However, in the spiritual sense –All manner of sin & blasphemy shall be forgiven unto man…..But we should never presume on God’s grace because as we’ll see His grace isn’t inexhaustible.
SINS THAT HAVE NO FORGIVENESS
There are sins with no pardon. There is much confusion about this subject so with the help of the Holy Spirit I’m going to try to “punch in some daylight.” I approach the subject in all seriousness & humility. You may not agree with me, that’s certainly your privilege but you’ll have a hard time proving me wrong.
God’s grace has limits. We don’t often hear about that nor do we really like to think about it.
TAKING THE MARK OF THE BEAST DURING THE GREAT TRIBULATION IS UNFORGIVABLE.
Revelation 13:16-18 notes, He also forced everyone small & great rich & poor free & slave to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead so that no-one could buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.
Revelation 14:9-11 says,--If anyone worships the beast & his image & receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand he too will drink of the wine of God’s fury which will be poured full strength into the cup of His wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels & of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever & ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast & his image or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.
Revival will flourish during The Great Tribulation & many will be saved, but they will have to seal their testimony with their blood. People will be told to worship the beast & if they don’t comply they’ll be beheaded. As the verses above tell us, there’s no forgiveness for anyone who takes the mark of the beast.
Exodus 20:3-5 tells us,--You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to worship them…..
People won’t be able to buy or sell during the tribulation without the mark of the beast - 666. There’s no good news to talk about during this time because without the mark there will be no food, no shelter, no medical care etc. Worse, if the mark is taken, the individual will face the eternal judgment of an angry God.
Salvation will still be available but only through martyrdom.
NO FORGIVENESS FOR UNBELIEF
In a Christian’s life there are times when our faith grows weak. James tells us that if we have wavering faith—“Let not that man think he shall receive anything from God.-James 1:7
A Christian who has saving faith, from time to time can experience wavering faith. This isn’t good but it does happen.
But when it comes to salvation, -- to believe on The Lord Jesus Christ is the only basis for salvation. Christ didn’t die for the sin of unbelief nor is it covered in the atonement.
Listen to 1 John 5:10—He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God- hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not in the record that God gave of His Son.
John 3:36 says……he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Roman 10:9 says……if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Listen to Jesus in John 16:8-9….And when He has come He will reprove the world of sin & righteousness & of judgment.
Of sin, because they believe not on me……
Here we have the words of Jesus saying unbelief is sin.
Hebrews 2: 12 says---Take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.
God won’t override unbelief & save an individual on “credit.” Unbelief must be flipped & turned to belief in order for a person to be saved. “Little faith” would still be enough to allow the person to call on the name of the Lord, but unbelief would never do it, so there is no path to salvation for the person who through unbelief refuses to make that call.—Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
There is no provision made for one who doesn’t call on the Lord during their lifetime, & death, without receiving Christ is irrevocable doom.
NO FORGIVENESS FOR BLASPHEMING THE HOLY SPIRIT
Matthew 12:31 says--…every sin & blasphemy will be forgiven man but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
In Matthew 12:22-24 the Scribes & Pharisees were attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan.
Then they brought Him a demon possessed man who was blind & mute & Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk & see. All the people were astonished & said, could this be the Son of David? But when the Pharisees heard this they said, it is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons that this fellow drives out demons.
The Pharisees attributed the works of Jesus to the devil himself. The sin was committed in full view of a demonstration of God’s power. Luke 4:18 says that Jesus went forth in the power of the Holy Spirit. Consequently the rejection of Jesus by the scribes & Pharisees constituted a rejection of the Holy Spirit’s witness of Jesus as the Messiah.
It was for this reason that Jesus said,--all sin & blasphemy shall be forgiven but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven men…whosoever speaks against the Holy Spirit it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
If the question of blaspheming the Holy Spirit has ever troubled you, here’s a little test;
# Do you know when you do wrong?
# Do you feel conviction after committing a sin?
# Do you feel sorry over such an offense?
# Do you feel the Spirit drawing you to repentance?
# Do you have a desire to worship & serve the lord?
# Do you ever consider God?
Christians can sin, but they have a hard time doing it. If God has closed the books on a person & written them off, they would be hardhearted; they’d have turned against Jesus, reviled Him & become so depraved that they could gladly consign the works of Christ to Satan.
This sin cannot be committed accidentally & it’s unlikely a person who does it would feel bad about doing it. It really boils down to this; it’s not what God does or is going to do to a person, it’s what the person does to their self. They would much rather continue to slander God & His name than to repent. In so doing they have shut off the only way to grace—Jesus Christ & His Holy Spirit. In shutting Him off, they shut off His conviction, drawing power, and His work of nudging them to repentance.
THE SIN OF APOSTASY IS NOT FORGIVEN
Following is what I believe to be one of the clearest descriptions found in the New Testament of what it means to be a Christian, --but ironically it’s wrapped in a serious warning. Hebrews 6:4-6 says;
It is impossible for-- those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, Who have tasted the goodness of the word of God & the powers of the coming age,-- if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again & subjecting Him to public disgrace.
In that passage there are five distinct expressions which elsewhere in the Bible are used to describe TRUE BELIEVERS…..The person has;
# “Been enlightened”—[This indicates they have received the truth of God’s Word in their lives.]
# “Tasted the heavenly gift” [often a reference to receiving the free gift of eternal life.]
# have shared in the Holy Spirit—[who except Christians shares in the Holy Spirit?]
# have tasted the goodness of the word of God
# & the powers of the coming age-- [Sinners aren’t spoken of here. These are blessings associated with salvation, & the resurrection.]The writer bends over backward to show that the folk he’s referring to are born-again Christians. And yet these people fall away & lose out with God to such an extent that --it is impossible for them to be brought back to repentance. That puts some “pepper in the gumbo” does it not? This is a very troubling passage.
Most of us know of individuals who for one reason or another have left the faith. They may not have actually denied the faith, but are certainly not practicing the faith.
Is this another incidence of a situation where people cannot be returned to repentance? Can a person have shared the Holy Spirit & then be lost? Are these good folk really lost? Is this really a description of a former saved person? Why can’t they find Christ once again? Why are they hopelessly lost eternally?
ANSWER; -- THESE PEOPLE COMMIT A SIN KNOWN AS APOSTASY—THEY ARE THEREFORE APOSTATES!
We know this is true because-They are crucifying the Son of God all over again & subjecting him to public disgrace.
They once confessed that Jesus was Lord & Messiah & that the crucifixion was unjust. Now in rejecting the faith their actions testify that the crucifixion was correct after all-Jesus was a blasphemer & not Messiah. If they had been there two thousand years ago they too would have cried, -Crucify Him, crucify Him. Such a witness exposes Jesus to public disgrace.
One of the sins of the end time is the sin of apostasy; people rejecting the true faith of Jesus Christ & embracing error.
1 Timothy 4:1 says, But the spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will fall away from the faith… A person can’t fall away from the faith or depart from it if they were never in it.
70% to 80% of those who are in cults today were at one time a part of classical Christianity. Nonetheless they fell into grave error & ultimately rejected the faith that they once held dear.
DELIBERATE SIN IS UNFORGIVABLE
Hebrews 10:26-30 [Living Bible]—If anyone sins deliberately by rejecting the Savior after knowing the truth of forgiveness, this is not covered by Christ’s death; there is no way to get rid of it. There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible punishment of God’s awful anger, which will consume all His enemies. A man who refuses to obey the laws given by Moses was killed without mercy if there were two or three witnesses to his sin. Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God & treated His cleansing blood as though it were common & unhallowed & insulted & outraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to His people. For we know Him who said,--Justice belongs to me; I will repay them; who also said,--the lord Himself will handle these cases.
Verse 26 now from the NIV, --If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left…If we’re completely honest we will all have to admit that none of us is perfect & have committed sin. It may not be a frequent or flagrant sin, but none of us has lived a perfect life, or Jesus wouldn’t have had to die on the cross.
We all do things, maybe we didn’t set out to do them, but we end up in some deed or activity we know is wrong yet we go against our conscience & do it anyway. We get angry, blow our cool, lie to get out of a jam, we speed, this kind of stuff. Now which kind of sin is the verse above talking about? Is it the accidental & unknowing sins or the other kind, the deliberate sins?
I believe the passage speaks of deliberate sin; sin people choose-- sin that is willful & premeditated, --sin that the individual knows is sin in the eyes of God when they commit it. It is a state of willful, known sin that a person embraces with no thought of giving it up. This is the sin spoken of in Hebrews 6:4-6 where apostates –trample underfoot the Son of God. They have also treated the blood covenant as something common &--insulted the spirit of grace.
These folk had known Christ as their personal savior & had-received the knowledge of the truth. For such people there is no forgiveness, no remaining sacrifice for sin. What remains is the judgment of God.
DOES THE NAME SAM KINISON RING A BELL?
Sam serves as a vivid illustration of an apostate. Sam was born in 1953 in Yakima Washington & became one of the loudest & rudest comedians of the 20th century. Sam grew up in Peoria, Illinois & he & his brothers followed in their father’s footsteps by touring the Bible Belt as evangelists.
Sam became one of the great stand-up comedians of the 1980’s & later his life became the classic image of drugs, sex & rock-n-roll. Hard-partying & hard-drinking became a major part of his act.
Here are a few “Kinisonisms” as they are called.
# I used to be a preacher & people think I changed overnight. I didn’t. It wasn’t like I woke up one morning & said, “Hey, forget the Bible, where’s the party?” It was a little more gradual than that. It took a lot of women to disillusion me.”
# People are going, -- hey aren’t you afraid to tell jokes like that? Don’t you get a small chill that runs through your blood when you tell a joke like that? Aren’t you afraid of going to hell? No, I’m not worried about hell. Because I WAS MARRIED FOR TWO YEARS! HELL WOULD BE LIKE CLUB MED!”
# I’ve lived a carnal life. My view of life is “If you’re going to miss heaven, why miss it by two inches? Miss it! I don’t have to go through the thing of paying for it in the next world. I know I’m—in the next life.”
On April 10th, 1992, on the way to a sold-out gig in Laughlin, Nevada, Sam’s Pontiac Trans-Am was struck head-on by a pick-up truck driven by a 17-year old driver. Sam who wasn’t wearing a seat belt died on the scene. A 27 year old female riding with him was knocked unconscious but suffered only minor injuries.
I’ve heard through several sources that Sam, while he was lying on the side of the road dying, was having a conversation with someone not visible to anyone but him. He was resisting death & making it clear to whoever he spoke to that he just couldn’t go. But finally he gave up & said, “Oh, well, yes I guess I’ll just have to go.”
There’s a photo going around of Sam & a group of women making mockery of the Lord’s Last Supper. I’ve heard it also hangs on the wall of a bar/restaurant owned by Sam’s brother Bill. Bill used to preach with Sam & is committed to keeping his memory alive.
I’ve read that Sam’s gravestone reads; - “In another time & place he would have been called a prophet.”
Could a person like Sam find Christ? Theoretically yes, if he would truly turn to the Lord. But Sam was an apostate & he wouldn’t turn to the Lord. He had;
# “been enlightened”
# tasted the heavenly gift”
# “had shared in the Holy Spirit”
# “Tasted the goodness of the word of God”
# “& the powers of the coming age.”
Sadly, none of that was good enough for Sam. He wanted more. He wanted booze, women, & song. He wanted fame & fortune. He wanted to worship another God besides the One True God—he wanted to worship the god of self.
Years ago a pastor friend told me the story of a small church that was praying for a young unsaved man in his mid-twenties. He had a wife & three children. The man worked with a group of other men on a construction job.
Revival came to the church & one night the young construction worker committed his life to the Lord.
Word of the man’s conversion reached the other men where he worked & the next day they mocked & made fun of him. At mid-morning they came around & said, “Hey, “preacher,” we heard you got religion last night.” At two o’clock they came around again to chide him saying, “Preacher,” we heard you got religion last night- Are you a holy-roller now?” At four o’clock there was more mockery of the young man, with his fellow workers putting all the pressure on him they could.
As the work day was ending the newly saved young man asked a friend for a piece of chewing tobacco. Then, in plain hearing of his buddies, this young man spit out tobacco & loudly said,--“There’s no more to God, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit than there is to that tobacco I spit on the ground.”
The workers saw they’d really gotten to the young guy & they all laughed & left the construction site to go home. The young man got in his truck & drove around for a while, finally pulling up in front of his house.
He got his double-barrel shotgun off the rack of his truck, got some shells, walked into his home & shot dead his wife & three children & then killed himself.
Few people really knew the back story of this terrible tragedy. My minister friend said, “John, when he spat on the ground & uttered those words of blasphemy, he opened the door to a demonic invasion into his life & it was tragically fatal for him & his precious family.”
Listen to 2 Peter 2:20-21 regarding the terrible fate that awaits unfaithful, backsliding Christians;
If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ & are AGAIN ENTANGLED IN IT & overcome, they are WORSE OFF AT THE END than they were at the beginning.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER FOR THEM NOT TO HAVE KNOWN THE WAY of righteousness, than to have known it & then turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Pretty well spells it out, doesn’t it?
Blessings,
John
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